Will this be 2008's "It" car? MINI Cooper EV starts production
The slick all-electric MINI Cooper EV has finally moved into production, so those of us who aren't beautiful pop stars can drive one soon. This is good news for people who want to see lithium-powered cars on the road ASAP. Hybrid Technologies, the company that is converting the Mini Coopers, built in England, to EVs, says the cars will go up to 80 mph (128 Km/H), do 0-60 in a quick six seconds and have a range of 120 miles/190 km per charge. The conversions are now taking place at Hybrid Technologies Mooresville, North Carolina plant. If you've been saving your pennies, you should be able to buy one sometime next year for around $60,000.
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[Source: Hybrid Technologies]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mirko 8:46AM (7/13/2007)
Am I the only one who finds their press release.. fishy?
A mix of pictures of the last gen and "new" mini, while their cars seem to be based on the last gen, 0-60 in 6 seconds with 103 hp (no way!), "Munich, Oxford" in the meadline, implying that BMW is involved in the project...
And that spec sheet... ABS "optional"? WTF?
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MrBungle 10:27AM (7/13/2007)
That acceleration figure probably has to do with the *huge* amount of torque that electric motors generate all the way up from 0 RPM. Once you get up to speed, I'll bet it becomes a little strained for power, but it should give great performance off the line.
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Dick Eades 11:04AM (7/13/2007)
I can't see how anyone could justify the price of this baby. For 30 grand yes, for 60 grand, no way.
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Derek 4:16PM (7/13/2007)
From the research I've done, $10k will buy a do it yourself conversion with less than desirable performance and a range of 40 to 60 miles. You might find and pay $20 for something a little better. But a performance based conversion with that range would likely cost that much in order for a company to make a profit.
It is ridiculous, out of my range, but yeah, $30k sure I'd figure out a way to make it work, but $60k too much. The bigger question is does the conversion void the warranty? My guess is yes.
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LaughingTooHard 7:16PM (7/13/2007)
Ah, EV conversion companies are the .com's of the 21st - they will come and go faster than they can spend the investor capital they raise.
Given nearly the US auto market is a good one to get started in but at stratospheric pricing, it is more a fad than a real business model.
I wish them well, as if they succeed we may see a $10K premium on conversions but for right now anyone who buys one is do little else than paying for the owners to figure out how (and not how) to build an EV.
As for me, I'll wait until an established auto maker to produce an EV and stand behind it. GM or Toyota won't be able to close up shop and disappear if they run out of money.
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