Can you believe the Mini designed by Alec Issigonis entered production 60 years ago? And ever since BMW took over the Rover Group to get the British marque, the trailblazing design of the original hasn’t been replicated.
MINI also happens to be in a bit of a pinch as far as sales are concerned, which is why BMW thought about re-designing the cutesy little city car as an electric vehicle with i3s underpinnings. The 60 Years Edition, however, is available with three internal combustion engines and in two body styles.
Painted in a color inspired by British Racing Green, the 60 Years Edition is also available in Midnight Black, Moonwalk Grey, Melting Silver, and Lapisluxury Blue. Regardless of body color, MINI combines your choice with either Pepper White or Black for the roof and door mirror caps.
As you can tell, there’s not a lot of specialness to speak of. But MINI couldn’t pass this chance of making a special edition, not when the celebrated marque celebrates six decades of existence. Over the years, the Mini was produced by BMC under the Austin and Morris names, British Leylands, Rover Group, and then BMW came out with the MINI in 2000 for the 2001 model year.
The redesigned pocket rocket is now at its third generation, and as ever, front-wheel drive is the name of the game. The John Cooper Works GP is front-wheel drive as well, promising more than 300 horsepower from 2.0 liters of displacement and a limited run of 3,000 examples of the breed.
“The new MINI Cooper SE, the first purely electric premium small car, like the original Mini in 1959, will amaze people with its driving dynamics,” said Patrick McKenna, head of product planning and consumer events. “It represents the next chapter of our illustrious history bringing sustainability and MINI legendary go-kart handling together.”
McKenna knows all too well that go karts handle differently from a road-going car, and the same applies to the no-nonsense John Cooper Works GP mentioned in the previous paragraph. Given how the people at MINI describe the MINI, there’s no denying that a change has to be made if the marque wants to go forward into the 2020s without losing customers with each and every passing year.
How will that change look and when it will come, heaven only knows…
Painted in a color inspired by British Racing Green, the 60 Years Edition is also available in Midnight Black, Moonwalk Grey, Melting Silver, and Lapisluxury Blue. Regardless of body color, MINI combines your choice with either Pepper White or Black for the roof and door mirror caps.
As you can tell, there’s not a lot of specialness to speak of. But MINI couldn’t pass this chance of making a special edition, not when the celebrated marque celebrates six decades of existence. Over the years, the Mini was produced by BMC under the Austin and Morris names, British Leylands, Rover Group, and then BMW came out with the MINI in 2000 for the 2001 model year.
The redesigned pocket rocket is now at its third generation, and as ever, front-wheel drive is the name of the game. The John Cooper Works GP is front-wheel drive as well, promising more than 300 horsepower from 2.0 liters of displacement and a limited run of 3,000 examples of the breed.
“The new MINI Cooper SE, the first purely electric premium small car, like the original Mini in 1959, will amaze people with its driving dynamics,” said Patrick McKenna, head of product planning and consumer events. “It represents the next chapter of our illustrious history bringing sustainability and MINI legendary go-kart handling together.”
McKenna knows all too well that go karts handle differently from a road-going car, and the same applies to the no-nonsense John Cooper Works GP mentioned in the previous paragraph. Given how the people at MINI describe the MINI, there’s no denying that a change has to be made if the marque wants to go forward into the 2020s without losing customers with each and every passing year.
How will that change look and when it will come, heaven only knows…