"Breathtaking," says BMW. "I shall call him... Mini-E." With that, BMW jumps into the electric car derby, unveiling its electric version of the Mini Cooper. The high-profile test program/publicity stunt will involve a limited run of 500 of the electric cars, to hit the streets of southern California and New York in January.
This one's tech is a lot like the Tesla, with 5,088 lithium ion batteries stuffed inside, powering a 150kW electric motor. That results in acceleration that's enthusiastic but not jaw-dropping, going from 0 to 60 mph in 8.5 seconds. The rest of the car looks a lot like the stock Mini Cooper, except for those blaring electric car graphics that let all onlookers know how this go-kart gets its kick.
The 500 cars will be leased to glamorous customers (for $850/month) in hopes of attracting attention to the fact that BMW is, you know, doing something about electric cars. After this year-long Mini E test is done, BMW says it'll build an electric car from the ground up, but didn't say what would happen to these cute little electro-buggies.
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Via AutoBlogGreen
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By CoolProducts at 3:50 PM ON 11/19/08
I'd never personally drive one, but I guess its good that they're getting into the eco-friendly game with this new mini-E. Best of luck!
By JWWright at 3:52 PM ON 11/19/08
Did someone forget to ask how much this costs? As well as forgotten to ask the range of this vehicle on a full charge?
Now that Obama is prez, we can kiss more nuclear power plants goodbye, and with it the cheap, plentiful electricity that would have revolutionised the electric car industry.
Obama said himself "Under my administration, the cost of electricity will naturally skyrocket".
Am I the only one who believed him?
By gigiduru at 8:59 PM ON 11/19/08
@JWWright: try not to be an y.d.y.o.t.
Also try to use your brains and open mouth in the same time, it yields better results in public speaking.
By ZAP Alias at 10:32 AM ON 11/20/08
LOL! A car manufacturer with a sense of humor! Seeing the EVs are really popular we are seeing a slew of new ones slated to roll out soon. This one sounds good. Looks good too.
By minimano21 at 10:40 PM ON 11/20/08
JWWRIGHT,
Have you ever sat in a science classroom?
Nuclear energy has its benefits, but did you know that the half life, that is that amount of time it takes for HALF of any form of nuclear waste to become natural again, is so incredibly long that HALF of any amount of nuclear waste would take MILLIONS OF YEARS to lose its harmful qualities? That means that we are stuck with the waste for all of human existence. So go ahead and complain about energy costs, but then again, I believe there was a technology invented years ago called the solar panel, which allows you to transform the sun's energy into electricity. I was doing a current event for my environmental class and saw this and couldn't resist making my point.
By boonefarm at 2:01 PM ON 11/28/08
I really would like to buy one . Please I,m very tired waiting around for the big 3 management and engineers trying to get their act together.
By boonefarm at 2:04 PM ON 11/28/08
I really would like to buy one . Please I,m very tired waiting around for the big 3 management and engineers trying to get their act together.
By Electric Car Guy at 9:43 AM ON 12/09/08
Think BMW got it right with their Mini E. Clean, zero emission vehicle with sex appeal. What we need now is more electric charging station so the EV users can charge it when they are driving in town.