What else is there to see at the LA Autoshow if you are an alternative car aficionado? The BMW Mini E.
The Mini E was there in its final version, ready to be leased to the public. You can find the lengthy online application here, but beware, the site is Flash and the application will take you a good 30 minutes to fill out. But what do you get? After signing a closed-end 1 year $850 per month lease, you will return the car.
On the exterior, it is a Mini. The only thing different about it is that there is exhaust tail pipe stinking out, as regular ones have. The inside is normal, save for the 2 back seat have been used to house the battery pack.
Technically speaking, the MINI E houses AC Propulsion‘s start of the art electric drive system. We covered driving AC Propulsion’s impressive eBox. The MINI E has a 150 kW (204 hp) electric engine and take its electricity from a 35 kWh lithium-ion battery pack, with 28 kWh constantly usable, adding up to 380V with 5,088 cells grouped into 48 modules. It will still be a front wheel drive car and will use a single-stage helical gearbox. The torque is 220 Nm, about 162 lb-ft and will do a 0 to 62mph in 8.5 seconds with an electronically limited top speed of 95 mph. The range is more than decent with above 150 miles, depending on your driving style and use, with regenerative braking that can extend the range by up to 20% if cleverly used. This brings a point we heard very often at the show, there is a dire need to re-educate drivers on how to drive electric cars to squeeze the maximum out of their performance. Nonetheless, this should be plenty enough for highway use considering well over 70% of U.S. drivers commute less than 40 miles a day.
The Mini E will start out as a 2 seater but other versions should appear later. The car will weigh 3,230 lbs with an even distribution.
Recharge time. The Mini E can be plugged into any standard power outlets and it will come with a a fast-charging wallbox in the U.S.. The full 28 kWh recharge would take slightly over 2.5 hours.
Again, we are happy to see the MINI E becoming a reality and look forward to covering more news as the lucky testers take it to the streets. Let’s hope it won’t have the unfortunate fate of the EV-1.
Source: AC Propulsion.
[...] popular hit is small, handles well and is easy on the gas budget. What else would anyone need? An electric version, of course. The pedigree speaks for itself, AC Propulsion inside, Mini’s inherent [...]
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