#MINI 2017 Electric Concept @ Design

MINI is using the 2017 IAA in Frankfurt am Main to showcase its take on future personal mobility in the city - in the form of the MINI Electric Concept. Designed for use in urban areas, this concept car offers a window into how pure-electric day-to-day mobility might look in the years ahead. And the MINI Electric Concept also brings the iconic design, city-dwelling heritage and customary go-kart feeling of the MINI brand into the electric mobility age. MINI will present an all-electric series-production model in 2019.
"The systematic electrification of the brand and product portfolio is a mainstay of the BMW Group's NUMBER ONE - NEXT strategy. The MINI Electric Concept offers a thrilling preview of the all-electric production vehicle. MINI and electrification make a perfect match," remarks Harald Krüger, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG.
Urban mobility is ingrained into the MINI brand's DNA; the city is its natural habitat. Indeed, this environment and the specific demands it places on a car provided the canvas from which the MINI design team brought the MINI Electric Concept to life. The responsive drive system, sublimely judged suspension tuning and use of aerodynamic add-ons produce driving dynamics very much in the MINI mould and a fine operating range. It all comes together to make the MINI Electric Concept a highly attractive, zero-emission solution to the current challenges facing personal mobility in our cities and their surroundings.
"With its characteristic go-kart feeling and powerful electric motor, the MINI Electric Concept is great fun to drive while also being completely suitable for everyday use - and producing zero emissions to boot. That's how we at MINI envisage electric mobility in tomorrow's world," says Peter Schwarzenbauer, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad.
MINI - blazing a trail for electric mobility at the BMW Group
It has been nearly ten years since MINI took a significant, pioneering step with the MINI E - and laid the foundations at the BMW Group for the development of electric mobility solutions to production readiness. The MINI E unveiled in 2008 was the first all-electric car from the BMW Group to be driven by private users in everyday traffic conditions - as part of an extensive field trial. Over 600 MINI E cars entered service worldwide for the purpose of the field studies. All of them helped to gain vital insights into the use of pure-electric vehicles, and this knowledge was subsequently incorporated into the development of the BMW i3. The MINI E also offered driving fun in spades, thanks to outstanding acceleration and handling.
The British premium brand's first series-production model with a plug-in hybrid drive system was presented in spring 2017 in the shape of the MINI Cooper S E Countryman ALL4. The new model variant enables electric and therefore locally emission-free mobility for the first time. The all-electric MINI Electric Concept represents a seamless continuation of this bloodline. In the future, all electrified products from the MINI brand will be grouped together under the "MINI Electric" banner.
Unmistakably MINI - the design
"The MINI Electric Concept is a quintessential MINI - compact, agile, simply the ideal companion for everyday driving. At the same time, it conveys a whole new take on the concept of sportiness," explains Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design. "Indeed, aerodynamics and lightweight design aren't just important in the world of motor sport; they are also essential factors for maximising electric range. The car's surfaces have a sense of precision and contemporary clarity about them that lends added impact to the car's efficient character. Plus, striking accents and vivid contrasts give the exterior that distinctive MINI twist."
A front end brimming with character
A hexagonal radiator grille and circular headlights make the MINI Electric Concept instantly recognisable when viewed from the front. Even from the outside, it is obvious that this car has an electric heart. Identifying features include the vividly contrasting silver and yellow colour scheme reminiscent of the earlier MINI E, as well as the distinctive E badge. Besides this, the radiator grille and headlights have been reinterpreted to reflect the emission-free drive technology under the bonnet. As the electric drive unit requires very little cooling air, the radiator grille is closed for superior aerodynamics. A Striking Yellow accent bar in the grille - with an E badge in the same colour - produces a powerful contrasting effect, which is echoed by the styling of the daytime running lights in the all-LED headlight assemblies.
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