MINI Electric
MINI Electric (referred to in some markets as the Mini Cooper SE)
The Mini is a small economy car produced by the English-based British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered an icon of 1960s British popular culture. Its space-saving transverse engine and front-wheel drive layout – allowing 80% of the area of the car's floor pan to be used for passengers and luggage – influenced a generation of car makers.
Mini (stylised as MINI) is a British automotive marque founded in 1969, owned by German automotive company BMW since 2000, and used by them for a range of small cars. The word Mini has been used in car model names since 1959, and in 1969 it became a marque in its own right when the name "Mini" replaced the separate "Austin Mini" and "Morris Mini" car model names. BMW acquired the marque in 1994 when it bought Rover Group (formerly British Leyland), which owned Mini, among other brands.
The original Mini was a line of British small cars manufactured by the British Motor Corporation (BMC), which in 1966 became part of British Motor Holdings. This merged with Leyland Motors in 1968 to form British Leyland. In the 1980s, British Leyland was broken-up and in 1988 Rover Group, including Mini, was acquired by British Aerospace. Mini models included the Morris Mini-Minor and the Austin Seven, the Countryman, Moke, 1275GT and Clubman. Performance versions of these models used the name Cooper, due to a partnership with racing legend John Cooper. The original Mini continued in production until 2000. In the end 5.3 million Minis were sold, making it the most popular British car ever made.
The Mini has won many awards over the years, including second place in 1999's "Global" Car of the Century award, behind only the Model T Ford. In the same competition, run by the prestigious Global Automotive Elections Foundation, the Mini was selected "European Car of the Century". Grassroots Motorsports awarded Mini with the Editors' Choice award in 2002. The Mini also received awards for "Car of the Century" (Autocar magazine 1995) and "Number One Classic Car of All Time" (Classic & Sports Car magazine 1996). The highest price ever paid for a Mini was at a Bonhams auction in 2007, when a works rally-prepared Mini (DJB 93B) sold for £100,500 ($196,980).
The last Mark VII Mini, and the 5,387,862nd and final original two-door Mini to be produced, a red Cooper Sport, was built at the Longbridge plant in October 2000. The car was driven off the production line by the pop singer Lulu, and was subsequently housed at the Heritage Motor Centre in Gaydon, alongside the first Mini Mark I ever made. The new generation Mini Hatch/Hardtop went on sale in July 2001 and was an immediate sales success.
In February 2005, BMW announced an investment of £100 million in the Mini plant in Oxford, United Kingdom, creating 200 new jobs and enabling production output to be increased by 20%.
At the North American International Auto Show in January 2011, BMW announced that it would be extending the Mini range with the launch of two new two-door sports crossover vehicles based on the Mini Paceman concept car, with a coupe version planned to enter production in 2011 and a roadster to follow in 2012. In June 2011, BMW announced an investment of £500 million in the UK over the subsequent three years as part of an expansion of the Mini range to seven models.
All Mini models since 2001 have different variants, including One (entry-level), Cooper, Cooper S (sporty), and John Cooper Works (JCW) (high-end).
In July 2017, BMW has announced that an electric Mini model will be built at the Cowley plant, in Oxford and will also be produced in China. The MINI Electric (referred to in some markets as the Mini Cooper SE) is an all-electric Mini from BMW was launched in 2020. The drive train utilizes technology developed for the earlier BMW i3. This is not to be confused with the 2010 Mini E which was a limited production vehicle used as a technology and market test platform.
It is quoted that its 32kWh battery good for about 180 kilometres of range.
“Electric Mini Cooper SE — lots of fun for not a lot of money”
Electrek (Jameson Dow) review“Fun electric fizz on a short leash”
Road|Show by CNET (Chris Paukert) review
