MINI may have pulled the coup of the year in the eyes of ‘green’ lobbyists by announcing its all-electric MINI E is soon off to 500 customers in California, New York and New Jersey as part of a testing programme. There have been loud questions as to MINI’s electric strategy and these have now been answered officially. Following our most recent spy shots of the car in testing, our expectations were of a later reveal yes, but not this soon.
The MINI E is a very special vehicle in that it uses electric power 100 percent of the time, meaning it is not a hybrid like a Toyota Prius or the upcoming Chevrolet Volt with their combinations of electric and internal-combustion engine power sources. To accommodate its 5,088 individual high-performance rechargeable lithium-ion cells that make up the air-cooled battery, MINI stripped the back seats, just like you would when ‘tuning’ a car for racing-like readiness. Yet the car keeps its 50:50 weight distribution. The 260kg battery powers the electric motor which is conventionally found upfront.
The motor pulls out a seriously impressive 150kW (200hp) of power and 220Nm (162 lb-ft) of torque which, as one expects from such a motor, is available from idle. Incidentally the car can rev up to a maximum of 12,500rpm! MINI says it will dash from 0 – 100km/h (62mph) in 8.5 seconds with an electronically-limited top speed of 152km/h (95mph). Not bad considering the battery’s weight, but also the car’s total curb weight of 1465kg (3230 lbs). It goes without saying that the MINI E produces zero emissions.
Charging an empty battery will take about 2.5 hours at the average home or other designated recharge facility, depending on area voltage. Thereafter a range of 240km (150 miles) can be anticipated under a combined driving route. Highly-qualified personnel will be looking after the cars while they are in the care of their new leasing ‘owners’ and at the end of the testing period the cars return to BMW for deep analysis. You’ll be able to see the MINI E next month at the Los Angeles Auto Show 2008.
All-Electric MINI E Officially Revealed
MINI / All-Electric MINI E
Batteries make it a two-seater
By Thami Masemola
October 20, 2008 9:59 AM
Filed Under: Electric Vehicle, European, Green, MINI, Technology
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MINI E (48 photos)
Comments
reyngel
October 20, 2008 11:04 AM
Why are there ceiling handles behind the seats if there aren't back seats?
IpsesNipse
October 20, 2008 12:40 PM
Probably cause its made from a normal Cooper. A bit weird that there is room for some Cooper S exhaust pipes as well.
Bristol411S3
October 20, 2008 4:24 PM
I assume there is some reason as they have seen fit to blank out the holes and delete the rear seat belts.
joelynn
October 20, 2008 11:16 AM
It sounds great, except the lack of rear seats hampers its practicality a bit. 150 miles on a 2 1/2 hour charge sounds pretty good. That would allow you to refuel it at a motorway service area and have lunch and read a book or something and get 300 miles a day
carbonsigma
October 20, 2008 2:34 PM
Well it's not like those rear seats were really usable in the first place...
radmeister
October 20, 2008 2:33 PM
You would spend as much time charging as driving if you avg 60mph. But i doubt this car is meant for long road trips, in the city it would be great, get to work, charge it, run errands after work, get home and charge it for the next day. I am although curious how much electricity it needs to run that 150miles because as we all know electricity is not free. The audi A4 diesel avgs 3.9L/100km which is about 10.30$ for 150 miles.
daviepops
October 21, 2008 1:10 PM
Good point on the $ per distance ... but this car is surely a big step in the right direction even if it costs a little more to cover the same trip (specially if you live where the electricity is generated by enviro friendly hydro as it is where I come from) ... also I rarely use more than the two front seats and almost never travel in excess of 150 miles (241 km) in a day ... so for me this Mini E is a total winner
wisp
October 20, 2008 4:25 PM
The car is obviously going to be working on the same principle asa Prius. The last time i checeked the Toyota Prius is highly popular and the Audi A3 diesel doen't even come close to it on fuel consumption. So instead of criticising it, give it some credit as the whole motor indutry is moving in that direction too. The issue is this car is far environmentla friendly than the other 100% fuel driven cars, so unless they come up with cars that drive on CO2, then semi electric cars are the best option untill the day the y make cars that can go at 1 liter per 100km.
radmeister
October 21, 2008 1:12 AM
Not really, you think electricity is made with no effects on the environment?? Let me tell you something, most power plants are 60% energy efficient, that means they burn fuel and return only 60% of the joules in the form of electricity the rest go off as other forms of energy. Now most of the world's electricity still comes from carbon based fuels which still produce NOx gases. In the BEST case scenario you can get 91% efficiency with a co-gen Siemens system where they piggy back a heat exchanger and a steam turbine to a gas turbine to recover some of the energy. So the best thing for the environment is a car that runs on gas and achieves over 91% energy efficiency.
BabyMilo
October 20, 2008 11:19 PM
good idea, but loosing the rear seats is kinda a bad thing and somehow the styling looks different and im not to sure that i am fond of it...
mmr66
October 21, 2008 3:28 PM
hi guys i have exclusive spy photos of the new rolls royce phantom how can i send them to the editors of wcf can anyone tell me how this is my email mmr44444@hotmail.com
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