It’s not a move that will please the Mini purists.
BMW, the German owner of the classic British brand, has decided to showcase the zero-emissions future of the iconic marque by taking a classic Mini and swapping its petrol engine for electric power.
The Mini Cooper’s original peppy 1,275cc four-cylinder powerplant was replaced with lithium-iron phosphate batteries and an electric motor, which the car maker says showcases ‘the brand’s unmistakable character whilst embracing zero local emissions technology’.
In some diehard Mini fans’ minds that statement might translate into one word ‘sacrilege’.
Using a late example of the legendary Mini, the fully electrified restoration has a range of 65 miles and a top speed of 75mph.
Mini teased an electric version of the current hatchback back in August and is due to launch the production-ready version soon.
But it appears that bods in the brand’s technical department haven’t just been concentrating on developing a new electric model, they’ve also been busy on a side project retrofitting this classic Mini Cooper.
Engineers at the car maker fitted the once-collectible model with 30 lithium-iron phosphate batteries to give it a range capable of driving from London to Oxford – where Mini builds around 220,000 new vehicles at its UK plant each year – on a single charge.
While it does showcase the potential for substituting combustion engines with electric power, it’s likely to rile plenty of classic Mini fans.
And it’s not the first time we’ve seen such an ambitious move.
Last year Jaguar unveiled the Future E-Type, which it said it could build for customers willing to fork out £350,000 on a classic car with a futuristic power source.
Fortunately for the most passionate of traditionalists, Mini has no plans to make this a regular conversion, with the Classic Electric Mini strictly a one off project.
A statement released about the car said: ‘A late and carefully restored example of the classic Mini Cooper serves as the basis for this special vehicle [the forthcoming Mini Electric].
‘The electric classic remains true to the brand, both in terms of its visual appearance and driving characteristics.
‘The spontaneous power of its electric motor provides a new dimension to the unmistakable go-kart feeling that helped propel the British small car in its original form to worldwide popularity.’
Featuring a traditional red body and white roof combination, telling the electrified classic apart from any other Mini Cooper of the era is pretty difficult from the outside.
The biggest giveaway is the yellow Mini Electric logo in the brand emblem that also features on the wheel hubs and the coachline pin stripe down the side of the vehicle.
Collectors and enthusiasts probably won’t take too kindly to how the modification impacts on the legendary feel of one of the greatest cars of all time.
