When I first hit the go pedal in the all electric MINI Cooper SE I immediately got it. I got what all those MINI engineers had been quietly telling me for well over a year; electrification perfectly suits the brand. The immediacy of the torque, the low, centered weight distribution and the environmental credentials all align perfectly with what the MINI is about. Which is why an all electric JCW GP might just be the ultimate MINI.

I like many of you mourn the loss of manual transmissions and have longed for the return of R53-like reactions in future MINIs. But time marches on and while we’ve lost some ground in visceral feedback, we’ve gained so much in other areas. More performance, better economy and cars that tend to be much better screwed together are attributes that I personally love about the current MINI range. But we’re on the cusp of something much more transformational than better quality and slightly more efficient engines.

Electric JCW GP

Going electric will not only transform how a MINI performs but change the perception of the brand. And in creating a electric halo like the JCW GPE MINI is signaling its intentions to move decisively in that direction.

From a performance perspective we have plenty of questions still. For instance how will those front tires be able to cope with so much immediate torque we’d assume out of an electric GP? BMW’s ARB system is great but it’s never had to deal with anything more than what the Cooper SE puts out. And track driving kills range – will MINI pack more cells into the GPE than the Cooper SE?

Finally what about the buying public? Are you ready for an electric halo car from MINI? These questions and many others will be answered soon enough.

As always, let us know your thoughts below in the comment section.