500 Electric Mini's for California

[Mr Silverblood]

Rawk the linkage: 500 electric Minis coming to California - AutoblogGreen

This could very well be the start of BMW testing the waters on electric Coopers. Thoughts?

[checkercoop]

I really, REALLY hope so. The operation costs and the performance gains are much desirable
I will trade in for the electric when it comes out as a full production model.

[Strippekniv]

...on Car Magazine on the net. Hope this is not he future...


Mini goes electric! Spy photos of battery-powered Mini | Secret New Cars | Car Magazine Online

[Mr Silverblood]

I'm sure it will eventually become the future. Gas is limited, though we don't clearly know what the limit really is, but it is a finite supply. Where as electricity can be generated, thus being fairly infinite.

It will be different, sure, but it'll be an adjustment we'll all have to make at some point.

[thebigyin]

Just received details of the 500 all-electric MINI E.
150 Miles Range from 28kWh worth of Batteries.
At the price of electricity in my town - 3.5 cents per kWh that means I could travel 150 miles on 98 CENTS worth of electricity - AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!
0-62 mph in 8.5 secs
95 mph maximum speed
150kW Motor (204 hp) with 220 Nm of Torque from a standstill
If only I lived in the Metro NY/NJ area or Southern California I would sign up in a nanosecond...

[J u s t]

Yup. I read about this on Drive.com.au

It showed that it took 2.5 hours to fully charge, which lasts between 250 - 295 kms. Was actually quite impressed by the performance!

[dalboyne]

But you lose the rear seats due to all of the batteries.....

My gut feeling is that converting conventional cars is not the answer - a proper electric car will have to be engineered and built from scratch.

They should also be as light as possible, I suppose, and therefore use carbon fibre and alloy space-frame construction. We probably also need to see the emergence of the one-seater electric commuter "pod", but this would need special roads - it could not share the highway with trucks, buses and SUVs!

(Sinclair C5 anyone? )

Ian

[MJS]

Has anybody seen this in todays Auto Express email?

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/u/r4e3a...60/mini_e.html

[I love MINI, Laura]

Theres quite a few posts about this already. Sorry.

[MJS]

Sorry, I was showing the pictures, haven't seen them before and thought it may be of some use to some on the forum.

[carrmrc96]

Seen it last week on msn news. I like the look of it, I reckon they should fit a fake exhaust tho, doesnt look right

[Paul]

On the forum multiple times, with pictures.

[Vitesse]

For everyday short commuting losing the back seats is not really a problem. How many cars do you see in the rush hour with only one person in, the vast majority.

The performance and range would be ideal for commuting especially if companies start installing recharging points in their car parks, that would allow greater ranges still. Looking at the charges the company could quite easily bill individuals for the recharging and deduct from their salary. It's definately the way forward, I would buy one now in the UK, it's ideal for my daily use, i.e. 13k miles in 3 years.

[Maxo MINI]

Hi,
We just published a new interview with the creators of the MINI E on MINI Space: minispace.com/en_us/article/interview-mini-unter-strom/132/?utm_source=nk_de

[dalboyne]

Quote: Originally Posted by Maxo MINI (original)

Hi,
We just published a new interview with the creators of the MINI E on MINI Space: minispace.com/en_us/article/interview-mini-unter-strom/132/?utm_source=nk_de

Welcome to MINI2, Maxo-MINI! Also great to see a link-up with MINI Space (maybe more MINI2-ers will join up and vote for my photos )

I'm especially interested in the last line of the article:

Dr Wolfgang Armbrecht: "We are currently looking into the introduction of the MINI E in Europe and will soon be unveiling it to European MINI fans at selected shows and events."

I wonder if that means there could be one or more MINI E at MUNI United? It would be fantastic if they could do that - and even let their loyal customers take it for a spin round the circuit!!!

Ian