This is probably BMW’s first deployment of a commercial electric car – the MINI E. Based on the current generation R56 MINI Cooper, the MINI E is powered by a 204 horsepower, 220Nm electric motor that draws power from a rechargeable lithium ion battery. Power is transmitted to the front wheels via a single-stage helical transmission.
0 to 100km/h takes 8.5 seconds and the vehicle has a top speed of 152km/h, which is not very high but is probably due to the maximum spin speed of the motor and the single-stage transmission, which is derived from the Cooper S helical gearbox. It’s essentially a single-speed automatic so there’s limitations on the top speed.
The MINI E has been reduced from a 2+2 into a strict 2 seater as the rear bench has been removed and replaced by the battery bank. The 5,088 lithium ion battery cells (grouped into 48 modules) have a maximum capacity of 35 kWh, and powers the motor at 380 volts. They provide for a maximum of 240km range on a full charge.
Some of the energy can be recovered via brake energy regeneration to provide a 20% boost in range. A full recharge via a plug-in charger draws 28 kWH from the power grid. Quick charging in 2.5 hours is enabled via a quick charger that will be installed in the customer’s garage for higher amperage.
500 units of the MINI E will be leased for private use in real daily traffic conditions. Leasing is based on a year’s term with the option to extend. The monthly lease payments will cover any required service (expected to be every 5,000km and at least after 6 months) including any maintenance and replacement of wear-and-tear parts. At the end of the lease, the cars returned to BMW will be subjected to comparative tests.
Look after the jump for more hi-res photos.
PHOTO GALLERY: MINI E Electric Car
Click thumbnails to view high resolution photo
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electric cars are totally impractical….. i guess it would be more expensive to run it compared to petrol cars … and much more expensive as well …. please stop making electric cars …. electric price is gonna go up when crude oil price goes up… so what is the point of making electric cars ? and it would be slower than petrol cars
the ultimate toy car, imagine that u have a remote controlled mini. this is the best 1/1 scale
Great!!….
Cute electric car!
Great, However disappointed not for sale yet. Also hope the price is affordable . The top speed is ok in Malaysia road and best in city use especially. Hope for mass production in near future so that the price can be cut down. Well My first car is Mini !
i wonder how its gonna effect the electric tariff when this kinda car became popular in m’sia…… :p
giannyong said, “Also hope the price is affordable ”
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affordable is very subjective. if you think RM200k is affordable, then great. being a mini, a new concept like this electric car will sell for nothing less than RM200k i believe.
It looks fun. :D
i’m guessing it’ll be about rm150k thereabouts??
i kinda feel it’s a very bad first attempt at “electrifying” the MINI. looks more like a frankenstein job!
electric cars should look like this
not even gonna make into production.
no point .
i rather hav bio diesel or fuel cell
nice! more powerful than cooper s! would be good to run on urban communities.
but on per lease basis, not for sale.
toys but cute
xzibit_NRG said,
October 21, 2008 @ 4:44 am
electric cars are totally impractical….. i guess it would be more expensive to run it compared to petrol cars … and much more expensive as well …. please stop making electric cars …. electric price is gonna go up when crude oil price goes up… so what is the point of making electric cars ? and it would be slower than petrol cars
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Well the big boy who’re playing crude oil game felt threaten when they produces more and more electric cars. It does effect the value of crude oil in the short future. What will you do, when you notice the crude oil (which is a main economy supplier for most mid-east country+Malaysia, Brunei) is not selling well when these electric cars are roaming on the street? I don’t know about you, but I’ll reduce crude oil price. I agreed with your idea of electric tariff will increase, well think about it, not more then the increment of petrol.
electricity is much cheaper than petrol. And electric motor is clean.. and more efficient when compare with petrol engine. guess those are few main point why car maker are crazy with electric car right now.
when using electric car… hmm… RM10 electric should give you a full recharge… not bad for 300KM distance.