Photo: Stefan Baldauf/SB-Medien
It’s no mystery to anyone that MINI is rocking down to Electric Avenue with an all-electric interpretation of the Cooper three-door hardtop. Known as the Cooper E, the newcomer is also anticipated to spawn a go-faster model, which we'll call Cooper E S to differentiate it from the Cooper E.
This possibility has been brought into the open by Japanese motoring publication Cliccar, with the report stemming from the Cooper S donor vehicle on which the test mule spied near the Arctic Circle is based. In other words, it’s just your average speculation, not the sort of report based on an insider’s knowledge.
When you think about it, two variations of the electrified MINI makes sense if you can make a parallel to what BMW is doing with the i3 and i3s. Also anticipated to borrow drivetrain technology from the smallest BMW i model in the lineup, the Cooper E and E S would cater to different customers with different needs from those who enticed to pay upwards of $44,450 on the i3.
As per Cliccar, the Cooper S E could develop up to 184 PS (181 horsepower) and 270 Nm (199 pound-feet) of torque if the i3s supposition will be proven correct. On paper, that translates to 6.9 seconds for the sprint from zero to 100 km/h (62 miles per hour) and 160 km/h (99 mph) in terms of top speed in the case of the i3s.
Driving range? The Japanese publication suggests that 400 kilometers (just under 250 miles) are enough for this particular application, with 80 percent of the lithium-ion battery capable of being charged in as little as 40 minutes. And that’s a lot of range bearing in mind the i3s is NEDC-rated 280 kilometers (174 miles).
Whatever the future may hold for the MINI brand in terms of electrification, it is known that BMW is utmost serious about its next generation of electric vehicles. After all, the Bavarian automaker knows that electro-mobility will be a huge part of the automotive scene of the 2020s.
When you think about it, two variations of the electrified MINI makes sense if you can make a parallel to what BMW is doing with the i3 and i3s. Also anticipated to borrow drivetrain technology from the smallest BMW i model in the lineup, the Cooper E and E S would cater to different customers with different needs from those who enticed to pay upwards of $44,450 on the i3.
As per Cliccar, the Cooper S E could develop up to 184 PS (181 horsepower) and 270 Nm (199 pound-feet) of torque if the i3s supposition will be proven correct. On paper, that translates to 6.9 seconds for the sprint from zero to 100 km/h (62 miles per hour) and 160 km/h (99 mph) in terms of top speed in the case of the i3s.
Driving range? The Japanese publication suggests that 400 kilometers (just under 250 miles) are enough for this particular application, with 80 percent of the lithium-ion battery capable of being charged in as little as 40 minutes. And that’s a lot of range bearing in mind the i3s is NEDC-rated 280 kilometers (174 miles).
Whatever the future may hold for the MINI brand in terms of electrification, it is known that BMW is utmost serious about its next generation of electric vehicles. After all, the Bavarian automaker knows that electro-mobility will be a huge part of the automotive scene of the 2020s.
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