Metallic Dark Silver, with the roof in Pure Silver.

Motion Trends

25 October 2008.

Mini Convertible

Mini / Mini Clubman

John Cooper Works

Mini - Technologies

Mini E - Electric

A new, electrically-powered MINI E will have its first media presentation at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show on November 19 and 20, before 500 vehicles get shipped to the US states of California, New York and New Jersey for testing with customers.

The possibility of offering the model in Europe as well is currently being considered, as the BMW Group (owner of the British MINI brand) aims to begin series production in the medium term of all-electric vehicles as part of the company’s Number ONE strategy.

The first 500 cars will be delivered to customers on a one-year lease term, with an extension option.

Monthly lease installments will cover technical service including maintenance and the replacement of wearing parts.

At the end of the lease, all of the automobiles belonging to the project will be returned to the BMW Group’s engineering fleet for comparative tests.

Specification and performance - The MINI E will be powered by a 150 kW (204 hp) electric motor (max. RPM is 12,500, with cut-off) fed by a high-performance rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Power is transferred to the front wheels via a single-stage helical gearbox. Peak torque (from idle) is 220 Nm.

The premium small car reaches 100 km/h (62 mph) in 8.5 seconds, on the way to an electronically-limited top speed of 153 km/h (95 mph). The MINI E’s 1,465 kilograms (3230 lb) curb weight is evenly distributed across the car (the regular MINI weighs around 1060 to 1130 kg). The battery's weight is 260 kg (573 lbs). Power-to-weight ratio is 9.76 kg/kW (or  7.18 kg/hp).

Zero emissions - A full recharge draws a maximum of 28 kilowatt hours of electricity from the grid.  Based on the car’s range of some 240 kilometers, or 150 miles, a kilowatt hour translates into 8.7 km (5.4 miles), offering an economic advantage over a vehicle powered by a conventional internal combustion engine.

The heavy-duty battery delivers its power to an electric motor, which is mounted transversely under the MINI E’s bonnet.  It can deliver its full thrust from a dead standstill and is complemented by its dynamic deceleration potential, which is directly coupled to the accelerator pedal: as soon as the driver releases the accelerator pedal, the electric motor acts as a generator. This results in braking force, and the power recovered from the kinetic energy is fed back to the battery.

The car maker says that in city traffic, some 75 per cent of all deceleration can be done without the brakes, with this energy regeneration extending the car’s range by up to 20 percent.

The brake system comes with a newly developed electric pump. Its Electrical Power Assisted Steering (EPS) is the same as the one used in mass-produced MINIs.  The suspension system and the car’s Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) are adapted to the model’s specific wheel loads.

Based on the current MINI Hatch, the E model will initially be available as a two-seater.  The space normally inhabited by rear passengers is reserved for a lithium-ion battery.

The lithium-ion storage unit will have a maximum capacity of 35 kilowatt hours (kWh) and transmit energy to the electric motor as direct current at a nominal 380 volts. The rechargeable battery is made up of 5,088 cells grouped into 48 modules which are packaged into three compactly arranged battery elements.

Lithium-ion technology is largely used in modern mobile phones and portable computers. The MINI E’s lithium-ion battery can be plugged into all standard power outlets. Its charge time is strongly dependent on the voltage and amperage of the electricity flowing through the grid: from 2.9 hours at 240 V/48 A, or 4.4 hours at 240 V/32 A, up to 23.6 hours at 110 V/12 A.

In the USA, users can recharge a completely drained battery within a very short period of time, using a wallbox that will be supplied as standard with every MINI E.

The wallbox will be installed in the customer’s garage to enable higher amperage, and thus provide for extremely short charging times. Wallboxes fully recharge batteries in just two-and-a-half hours.  Only lockable garages or similar buildings will qualify as power stations for the MINI E.

The E styling - Every MINI E produced for this pilot project will have the same paintwork and bear a serial number on their front bumpers. The MINI E’s coachwork features a combination of metallic Dark Silver on all panels, while the roof is clad in Pure Silver.  A unique logo in Interchange Yellow, depicts a power plug in the shape of an “E” set against a silver background.  It has been applied to the roof, in smaller dimensions to the front and back, to the charger port lid, the dashboard trim, and to the door jamb, in slightly modified form.

The color of the roof edges, mirror housings, interior style cues and seat seams will also match the logo’s yellow hue.

Inside, the central gauge and battery level indicator behind the wheel which replaces the MINI’s rev counter, feature yellow lettering against a dark grey background. The battery level is displayed in percentage figures. The central gauge includes an LED display indicating power consumption in red and power recuperation in green.

Maintenance - As the electric drive’s high-voltage technology requires maintenance by qualified personnel using special tools that are not included in MINI service partners’ standard toolboxes, a service base will be set up for customers in California, New York and New Jersey, staffed by specially trained MINI service engineers.

In the event of drive malfunction, these experts will provide professional support at the customer’s local MINI dealer or the service base’s specially equipped workshop. Technical inspections will take place after 3,000 miles (just under 5,000 kilometers) and at least after six months.

Production - The MINI E has already gone through the major phases of product development for mass-produced vehicles and passed numerous crash tests on the way, including those mandated by US standards.

Production of the 500 cars will take place at the company’s Oxford and Munich sites and is scheduled for completion before the end of 2008.
MINI’s Plant Oxford will be responsible for manufacturing the entire vehicle on the standard production line, with the exception of the drive components and the lithium-ion battery. The units will then be transferred to a specially equipped manufacturing facility situated on BMW plant premises where the electric motor, battery units, performance electronics and transmission will be integrated.