HOW DOES IT WORK?
Coming from a motor sport background, Swind set itself one major condition when it came to converting the Mini to electric power – it would not increase the car’s centre of gravity. This is key, because the easiest way to fit batteries into most classics – and the way we have seen it done many times before – is to simply put them in the engine bay or the boot, where they get stacked on top of each other. In some cars, like the electric Fiat 500 that we drove last year ( CCW 27 June) this is the only option, but it puts a load of weight up high, which is bad for the handling – and simply won’t do in a Mini. Swind’s solution has been to create a ‘ T’ shaped battery that sits on the floorpan in the middle and under the seats, apeing a modern Tesla’s under-floor battery pack.
These batteries power an 80kw electric motor that’s mounted low down in the engine bay and provides almost three times the power of the 1983 Mini upon which the E-Classic is based. This is cooled by a small radiator mounted low down at the front. And because the electric motor is much smaller than an A-series engine, the Swind’s centre of gravity is actually lower than a standard car’s, and the net result of the weight loss at the front and weight gain at the rear is a front/rear weight distribution of 57:43 – much better than a standard Mini.
With 24kWh storage capacity, the Swind has a range of about 125 miles, which can be recharged from a standard 240v socket in four hours. There’s no conventional transmission – it’s just a case of forward and backward, which connects to the front wheels through driveshafts which, other than hooking up to the electric motor, are as standard. Everything else on the car – steering, brakes and suspension – is standard Mini.
Of course, the car has no need for a fuel tank, so this is removed, thereby making the boot usefully larger. So how come there’s a petrol filler cap? Well, we’re glad you asked…
DRIVING THE E-CLASSIC
There are just two exterior clues that this isn’t a normal mid-Eighties Mini, and they’re both at the back: the petrol filler cap, which is now a charging point; and the lack of an exhaust pipe. Step inside and there’s one glaring difference, however – most Minis have the tiniest tunnel down the spine of the car, just enough for the exhaust to sit in on the underside, whereas the E-Classic has what looks like a hefty transmission tunnel. Of course, there isn’t actually a gearbox in there – it’s where the batteries live. The lack of a clutch pedal means that the tunnel never feels intrusive, but it does detract slightly from the original car’s TARDIS sensation.
Something you perhaps don’t first think of when considering an electric classic – but something which hits you straight away in the Swind – is how much noise it makes. You don’t normally hear them in a petrol car because they’re masked by the sound of the engine, but set off in the E-Classic – which involves turning a key and pushing the transmission lever into forward – and there’s a slightly disconcerting moment when you hear creaks from the steering rack and every bit of movement in the suspension. These are noises that all Minis make, you just don’t normally hear them.
Stab at the throttle pedal, however, and you’re greeted by the wholly unfamiliar sound of electric whirring. It’s nowhere near as evocative as the throaty growl of a try-hard A-series, but it does have an exciting property of its own, conveying a sense of speed as the whirring gets louder and faster.
POWER SHOCK
Of course, the other difference between this and a petrol-drinking Mini is how it goes. Luddites be damned, this is one quick Mini.
The 110bhp-equivalent 80kw this motor produces is about as much as a well-tuned 1275cc fast-road Mini, but the E-Classic also has the benefit of an electric motor’s instant torque. So too, with no gears to change through, there’s no let-up in acceleration. Floor the throttle and the car really does leap forward – certainly enough to leave our modern SUV camera car floundering in its wake. In fact, the main limiting factor to the speeds you’ll feel comfortable with in the E-Classic is common to all Minis – the harsh ride means that you’re always scanning the road ahead for potholes. The suspension is identical to any other Mini, after all.
Fortunately, that identical suspension means that the Swind retains the Mini’s trademark chuckability, with fantastically direct, quick and linear steering. The Swind may be slightly heavier than a normal Mini, but it doesn’t feel it out on the road, rewarding quick inputs at the wheel with flea-like agility. On open roads, that go-kart cliché couldn’t be more true as you find yourself driving largely with one pedal. On the throttle to accelerate and off for the regenerative braking to slow down. To the driver, the brake regen has the effect of a sort of super engine braking – as if the car has a combustion engine with ridiculously high friction levels.
In truth, the E-Classic does need a bit more fettling in this respect, and Swind knows it; it’s working on making the step from on-throttle to off-throttle less dramatic so uninitiated drivers don’t find themselves kangarooing up the road. We also think there’s more work to be done with the standard mechanical brakes, which felt under-assisted to us, requiring a real stamp if you want to pull up at a precise point. These are just a matter of further development, however, and will doubtless be improved.
Swind wants the E-Classic to be an acceptable proposition to those who’ve never driven a classic car before and a great deal of that appeal will come from what promises to be a much lower maintenance experience than a normal classic Mini, as well as from the lack of any emissions. However, it’s easy to see why you’d go for a Mini for this project – it’s not just the iconic looks, but also the fact that the Mini is such an easy car to drive, which is still very much true with the Swind.
Anyone who has never driven a car that didn’t come with an ECU could get in the Swind and not be intimidated by it – they’d notice a difference, for sure, but they’d be able to have fun with it in a way that they simply wouldn’t with a petrol classic.
SPECIAL THANKS Swind is now taking preorders for the E-Classic, with a starting price of £79,000. 0330 380 0605 swind.life
‘The Swind retains the Mini’s trademark chuckability and fantastically direct and linerar steering’