Mini Classic Recharged

Production of the classic Mini ended back in 1998. The original model, developed by Sir Alex Issigonis, made its debut back in 1959. Thanks to innovative technical details such as front-wheel drive and a transversely mounted engine, the small car offered a lot of space in a small space. The idea was born during an oil crisis and was intended to encourage economical driving. In the meantime, it has become one of the most sought-after and popular classic cars. At the production plant in Oxford, where the third generation of the New Mini is now rolling off the assembly line, there are still employees working on the Mini Classic. Part of this team is now working on the Recharged project. This involves giving classic Minis an all-electric powertrain. In 2018, a unique model with a very similar design was already built at the same plant independently of this project. This was presented shortly afterwards at the New York Auto Show.

It is important to all those involved that, in addition to the silent ride, the legendary go-kart handling is retained. Next to that, all the conversions are designed to be reversible, i.e. the cars can be retrofitted back to combustion engines at any time at the customer’s request. All removed components, such as the engines, are marked and stored. Instead, a 90 kW (122 hp) electric motor is fitted in the car – without doubt the most powerful drive ex works that the classic Mini has ever seen. This enables the car to accelerate from a standstill to 62 mph in approximately nine seconds. The necessary energy is provided by a high-voltage battery that can be charged at fast-charging stations with up to 6.6 kW of charging power. It provides enough power for a range of up to 99 miles. The charging connector is located under the original filler cap. Inside, new instruments in the central display area show the drive temperature, the gear engaged and the speed. Mini didn’t yet provide any details on the price of the conversion.

Images: Mini UK