Mini begins classic Cooper EV conversion service

Mini has bought into the electric vehicle conversion craze, creating an in-house department to transform its most iconic car.

Based at the Mini Plant Oxford facility, a dedicated team now works on turning the brand's cult classic into a fully-electric – and fully reversible – modern restomod.

The Mini Restomod project sees the original-shape Mini fitted with a 90kW electric motor – producing over 30kW more than the mid-60s' Mini Cooper 1275 S models – reducing its 0-100km/h time to around nine seconds.

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No details have been provided about how large the battery pack is, but with a driving range of roughly 160 kilometres on a charge, it should provide more than enough for an inner-city runabout considering the current Mini Cooper SE Electric can only manage around 10 kilometres more from its 32.6kWh pack.

An onboard charger allows the car to be charged at up to 6.6kW, potentially meaning empty to full could take roughly five to six hours.

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On the inside, not much has changed aside from the original instrument cluster getting a rework to become more relevant to the new powertrain, displaying drive temperature, range and speed.

What's most appealing about the project is that it's completely reversible – the car's original internal combustion engine is marked and stored in case the owner wants to revert to factory specifications, although with London's ultra-low emissions area ever tightening, it's unlikely anyone would take up the offer.

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The blue car is having trouble with its differential

The head of Mini's global brand management, Sebastian Beuchel, says the conversion is a match made in heaven, bringing future technology with Mini's past glory.

"Individuality also plays an important role with Mini Recharged," said Beuchel.

"Unique classic Mini models have always been created, including true works of art on wheels. That's why future collaborations are also planned as part of the MINI Recharged programme, allowing well-known artists to express their creativity with specially designed classic Mini models."

No prices have yet been confirmed for the conversion process.