MINI at the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show
MINI will be bringing its recent MINI Electric concept to the LA Auto Show late this month along side it’s full suite of products. Not making the trip across the Atlantic is the JCW GP concept.
The MINI electric concept is a design study to both create anticipation for the elelctric MINI and gauge reactions to a preview of MINI’s refined design language. But make no mistake an electric MINI is coming in late 2019. Rumor has it that MINI is working on a range of “at least” 250 miles. According to sources BMW is looking to use Samsung’s Low Height Pack 125-Ah cells to make this happen.
Perhaps more important we expect BMW and MINI to adopt 150kW charging which would allow for a dramatically quicker charge than an existing i3 (or equivalent electric vehicle) when paired with quick charge stations. This last point could go a long way in making the electric MINI a more viable option than other electric cars for many of us who need more than a electric vehicle to commute in.
The 2020 MINI Electric. Think i3 drivetrain shoehorned into the current F56 chassis.
<p>Gabe,</p>
<p>Any talk about the ‘8 speed automatic’ coming to the JCW any time soon? You mentioned that it would start this month……..anything?</p>
<p>Hoopty</p>
<p>No the transition for some transmissions happens in November. JCWs is not among them. Check out the original article for the full break down: <a href="https://www.motoringfile.com/2017/09/27/exclusive-mini-dct-details-first-photos/" rel="ugc">https://www.motoringfile.com/2017/09/27/exclusive-mini-dct-details-first-photos/</a></p>
<p>Gabe,</p>
<p>I must be missing something, but this is what the article says:</p>
<p>The 8AT will replace the current automatic on the the F55, F56 and F57 on the following models:</p>
<p>MINI F56 JCW – 11/17 Production (2TB standard)
MINI F57 JCW – 03/18 Production (2TB standard)
MINI Cooper SD (all models) – 11/17 Production</p>
<p>I’m looking to order a F56 JCW any day now, but I was hoping for the ‘8 speed auto’</p>
<p>Hoopty</p>
<p>Whatever is in that article is correct – sorry misunderstood. Keep in mind that the full refresh happens in March however.</p>
<p>For clarification see the attached charts <a href="https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/72f519dd51d91fe6070c9fe090c05b8e294fb7b682d98f6f23cb584045e3838a.png" rel="nofollow ugc">https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/72f519dd51d91fe6070c9fe090c05b8e294fb7b682d98f6f23cb584045e3838a.png</a> <a href="https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a3f9b6fc856fc257163de671ccf2ea2a344c3b9845010772d1079bb5d9efa416.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc">https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a3f9b6fc856fc257163de671ccf2ea2a344c3b9845010772d1079bb5d9efa416.jpg</a></p>
<p>Keep in mind that some markets (notably North America) may deviate slightly from this rollout.</p>
<p>I’m looking forward to the MINI E, but what I want for Christmas is a jet suit!</p>
<p><a href="https://sputniknews.com/viral/201711091058945651-uk-browning-flying-suit-record/" rel="nofollow ugc">https://sputniknews.com/viral/201711091058945651-uk-browning-flying-suit-record/</a></p>
<p>When BMW announced that the fifth ‘Superhero’ MINI would be an all-electric MINI E Hardtop, it also stated that the development cost would be in the “tens of thousands”, which is a tiny budget. So the assumption must be that the tried and tested rear-wheel-drive E technology will be lifted from the i3, but with the benefit of the next generation Samsung 125-Ah “low-height pack” battery cells.</p>
<p>Interestingly, VW is actively considering plans for an all-electric rear-wheel-drive successor to today’s Beetle as part of a range of zero-emission models based on its new MEB platform, according to the German car maker’s chairman, Herbert Diess. He said that any direct successor model would be electric only. The electric-powered Beetle, would be a sister model to the modern-day Microbus.</p>
<p>I don’t see the beetle ever coming back. Sales of it are plumiting and it’s quality is god awful. A 34k r line beetle has similar interior quality to a Ford Fiesta. The only thing it had going for it was a real leather steering wheel. The Mini outclassed it with near luxury material quality for a lesser price and much better driving dynamics.
The only people I see who are driving it are older people that want that nostalgia and most of them apparently don’t wanna spend upwards of 30k on a small car and younger males don’t want it as much as the marketing team had hoped.</p>
<p>I can’t see them bringing back the beetle as a electric as it would cost way way way too much. I love the attention my beetle gets and I’d love to buy another one once I get a new f56/f55 lci model. But they will have to really step up the quality of the beetle. They either need to make it full on sports car or a luxury cruiser with great sound insulation. Don’t give me light steering and low horsepower and then make the exterior racy and flashy.</p>
<p>The all-electric Beetle is just one of five proposed models all sharing the same platform. Click on the attached link for Autocar’s interview with Herbert Diess.</p>
<p>Sorry, here is the link</p>
<p><a href="https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/volkswagen-beetle-set-go-electric-and-rear-wheel-drive" rel="nofollow ugc">https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/volkswagen-beetle-set-go-electric-and-rear-wheel-drive</a></p>