Mini Minor could be revived as EV

The Mini Minor moniker is rumoured to be in the pipeline for an all-electric revival, according to BMW insiders.

As first reported by Autocar, a heavily camouflaged Mini has recently been spied doing the rounds at winter testing sites across Europe, and it may well be the next incarnation of the long-dormant Minor.

The celebrated appellation's newest iteration could be one of the first EV-only production cars built by BMW and Great Wall, as part of the two automakers’ ‘Spotlight’ agreement.

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The 50:50 joint venture between the German and Chinese firms was solidified back in July of 2018, and the partnership will allow Mini electric vehicles to be manufactured in China’s Jiangsu province, where a circa-$1 billion ‘Spotlight’ factory is being built.

The Minor will sit on an all-new electric platform being jointly developed by BMW and Great Wall engineers.

The skateboard-style EV architecture will see batteries line the floor of the chassis, and the new hatch will be powered by a completely novel drivetrain being created by BMW.

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The modular power unit, which has been coined ‘Heat’, will incorporate a water-cooled electric motor, single-speed transmission, and power electronics, and has been engineered to be roughly the same size as a conventional internal combustion engine.

Power is rumoured to be rated at around 100kW, while the Minor could have an effective driving range of roughly 270 kilometres.

According to Autocar, the BMW insider says owners looking to use the new EV Minor as a city car and travel around 35 kilometres a day will be able to go a week without having to charge up the battery.

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It’s not known when the new Mini Minor will be globally unveiled, and a spokesperson for Mini Australia told WhichCar they could not comment on these new reports.

However, given BMW has previously stated that the 'Spotlight' project won’t spawn any models until 2023, we’ll probably have to wait until 2022 before anything more concrete can be confirmed.

Whatever the case, this news, combined with recent reports that Mini is also working on an all-electric crossover nicknamed ‘Rocketman’, show the British marque is serious about its commitment to being a pure electric vehicle manufacturer by 2030.

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