MINI GOES ELECTRIC

If Alec Issigonis would invent the Mini today, it would definitely be an electric car. It is the answer to current challenges, as the original Mini was in 1959.”

That’s the view of Mini boss Sebastian Mackensen, and while there’s an element of ‘he would say that, wouldn’t he?’, an affordable small electric car certainly fits the ethos of the diminutive original more than some of the recent supersize SUV offshoots.

The first proper electric Mini is due to arrive this year and it will be built on an adapted version of the UKL platform used for the current hatchback. It will be launched as a three-door only. No details of its range have been released yet, but the latest version of parent firm BMW’S i3 has a 193-mile official range and it is likely the Mini will adopt a similar powertrain and battery package.

That set-up should give a 0-62mph time of less than seven seconds, and with instant torque, should result in performance similar to that of the petrol Cooper S. Mackensen says the EV’S layout will result in handling far closer to the original Mini’s.

If you think that sounds like the perfect recipe for an electric hot hatch, you’re not alone: that’s why, despite being called the Mini Electric during development, the finished car is set to receive Cooper S E branding.

If Mini can truly produce the first proper electric hot hatch, it could be a game-changing moment for both the firm and electric cars.

The future of Mini is currently being debated at high levels within the BMW Group and the success of the Mini Electric is likely to inform those discussions. So it’s fitting that the car will arrive in the year the brand celebrates its 60th birthday: it could define its direction for the next 60 years.