Mini has today unveiled the “Electric Concept”, ahead of its official public debut at next month’s Frankfurt motor show.
Just last month, parent company BMW announced that an all-electric Mini will enter production in 2019 – and that news followed the debut of Mini’s first ever electrified production model, the Countryman Plug-in Hybrid earlier in 2017.
As well as previewing the brand’s first full-production electric model, the new Electric Concept also gives a foretaste of what the next-generation MINI might look like.
The vehicle is instantly recognisable from the front by its hexagonal radiator grille and circular headlights. However, both have been reinterpreted to reflect the electric powertrain under the bonnet.
For example, as the electric drive unit does not require any cooling air, the radiator grille is closed for the sake of aerodynamics. An accent bar in yellow in the grille with an E badge in the same colour produces a contrasting effect, which is echoed by the styling of the daytime running lights in the all-LED headlight assemblies. The front apron’s simulated “air intakes” are also sealed, yet they still include dark louvres that look like cooling fins.
Other exterior details include moulded fibreglass add-on parts along the lower edge of the car’s sides, while the tail-lights each form one half of the Union Jack as an LED dot matrix. The rear also gets air deflectors and a fibreglass diffuser, as well as simulated air outlets instead of conventional exhaust pipes.
Certain details have also been manufactured using 3D printing, for instance, the recessed louvred surfaces in the air intakes and the inlays on the dark-coloured, asymmetrical 19-inch wheels.
“The Mini Electric Concept is a quintessential Mini – compact, agile, simply the ideal companion for everyday driving. At the same time, it conveys a whole new take on the concept of sportiness,” explains BMW designer, Adrian van Hooydonk. “The car’s surfaces have a sense of precision and contemporary clarity about them that lends added impact to the car’s efficient character. Plus, striking accents and vivid contrasts give the exterior that distinctive Mini twist.”
A production version of the Electric Concept will be revealed in 2019.
