Oct 18th, 2008 by RJ Menezes
In a surprising move, Mini has announced that they will make a fully electric version of the Mini called the Mini E. What is more impressive is that development of this car was kept so under the radar that few people knew of it’s existence. Once it’s spec’s were revealed, people were really impressed.
This Mini moves. Power comes from 573 pounds worth of lithium-ion batteries hooked up to a three-element power source made up of 5088 cells. With a maximum capacity of 28 usable kilowatt-hours, the Mini E can go up to 150 miles on a full charge! What’s more, this thing makes 204hp and 168ft-lbs of torque, the same as a Mini Cooper S! Performance numbers mirror the base Cooper with a 8.5 0-60mph run, and a top speed of around 95mph.
Looks wise, you can tell right away that this car is no regular Mini. Light yellow accents all over a silver exterior and small “Wall-Plug” graphics are stamped all over the car and on the grill. It all shouts, “this is thing is electric baby!”
Mini will only make 500 of these vehicles for now and will only lease them in the states of New York, New Jersey, and California. Makes me think back to GM’s ill-fated EV1 electric car. Hopefully the Mini E won’t share that same fate!
-Source: Car And Driver
-Photo: Mini USA
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[…] will be focusing on showing its electric version of the Mini Cooper (read about it on our site here) and concentrating its immediate efforts into building more fuel efficient […]