News : MINI Electric Concept hints at F56 facelift

MINI Electric Concept
MINI Electric Concept

Images of the Mini Electric Concept have been revealed in the run up to its debut at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show. It’s a cute-looking thing, with some interesting styling touches, which are destined to find their way onto the facelifted F56 MINI, due to go on sale in 2018.

It’s the motor show version of what MINI says is its British-made electric future, promised for introduction in 2019.

The MINI Electric Concept has a pure battery-electric drivetrain with a single electric motor, which makes it a very different beast to the recently-launched Countryman Hybrid.

It’s clearly based on the current F56, but with a few design tweaks to give it that special motor show appeal. So, you get all-LED lights, and rear lamp clusters that form a Union Jack. Expect that to see the light of day on the options list very soon.

We don’t have much in the way of technical information about the car, but we do know that it’s likely to be challenging the recently updated Renault Zoe in terms of range and battery capacity. Expect at least 200 miles per charge and Cooper S-busting performance.

Keith Adams

5 Comments

  1. About time too – the F56 desperately needs a facelift . After 7 years of owning r50 and R56 variants i found the F56 incredibly ugly . I hope to go back to MINIs at some time – great to drive but now bloated and ugly compared to the original , I want to see the return of a neater looking version . This rendering looks like a step in the right direction

    • It’s strange that when the R50 came out, many complained that it was bloated and ugly compared to the original-original (ie. Austin/BMC up to Rover), but the passing of time, the success of the model and anyone who actually bothered to drive one and found it an absolute hoot that makes you feel young again.

      I’d originally not liked the long front overhang of F56, like a Peugeot 407, but the full length grille does look very original-original Mini.

      I do wonder how the fleg lights will go down in certain corners of these islands. Or if it’ll be an option.

  2. Is it me or does that front look a bit like a fish 🙂

    The frontal overhang is indeed a retrograde development when compared to the R50, but that’s pedestrian safety rules…

  3. Is it me, are those rear lights just not looking correct?
    The left cluster has an arrow pointing right and right pointing left. Would the arrows be confused with indicators? 😉

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.