Cars

Mini Electric Convertible: Sky's the limit for latest zero emission Mini - though it costs more than £52,000...

The Mini Electric Convertible will be a rare sight - only 999 are being built, with just 150 coming to the UK
The Mini Electric Convertible will be a rare sight - only 999 are being built, with just 150 coming to the UK
You can have the Mini Electric Convertible in any colour you like as long as it's black (or white)
You can have the Mini Electric Convertible in any colour you like as long as it's black (or white)

AS Audi prepares to say auf wiedersehen to the TT, BMW keeps finding new ways to breathe new life into its own little design icon, writes William Scholes.

A convertible version of the electric hatch is the latest addition to a line-up that has been carefully curated since the first 'new' Mini was launched under BMW stewardship in 2001.

The standard Mini Electric will set you back around £30k. If you think that's expensive for a small car, you may need smelling salts when you hear what they're asking for the electric convertible: £52,500.

That is clearly a lot of money. For some context, that sort of money will get you into a larger, faster and far more long-legged electric car such as a Tesla Model 3. Or if you want a soft-top, you can get a Porsche Boxster for less than £50k.

It's a Mini, it's electric and it's a soft-top - what's not to like?
It's a Mini, it's electric and it's a soft-top - what's not to like?

But that's to miss the point. The Mini Electric Convertible isn't meant to make any rational sense. Arguably, no Mini really does; from the base car up, there are a bunch of larger, cheaper and less compromised rivals. But no Volkswagen Polo, Vauxhall Corsa or other supermini is as much fun to drive or as charismatic as a Mini. Owners name their Minis; they tend not to do that with many other cars (the Fiat 500 is similarly charming, but until the arrival of its new electric version, it has been a cheaper and flimsier product than the Mini).

There have of course been pricey Mini variants before - for example, the Mini Goodwood tie-in with Rolls-Royce and numerous John Cooper Works and GP versions - and these have gone on to become sought-after by collectors and what one might call the Mini community.

The Electric Convertible will be no different. Just 999 will be built, with only 150 of those coming to the UK market.

When you buy a Mini you are normally faced with a long list of options - paintwork, roof colours, with bonnet stripes or without, wheel styles, seat designs, various gadgets… The Electric Convertible breaks with that tradition by being offered in a 'fixed specification'. It has basically every option fitted in any case and your only choice, in fact, is whether you want 'enigmatic black' or 'white silver' exterior paint.

The Mini Electric Convertible comes with just about every piece of optional equipment, but it's £52,500 price is still a lot of money for a small car
The Mini Electric Convertible comes with just about every piece of optional equipment, but it's £52,500 price is still a lot of money for a small car

The drivetrain is unchanged from the electric hatchback, meaning a 181bhp motor and 32.6kWh battery. The extra weight of the convertible makes itself felt in a slightly blunter 0-62mph time (8.4 seconds compared to the hatch's 7.3 seconds) and a shorter range of 124 miles (the hatch is good for a quoted 140 miles).

Mini Electric hatchbacks are built in Oxford, but the convertible is assembled in the same Netherlands factory where petrol-engined soft-tops are made.

The car has entered production just eight months after Mini first showed a prototype electric convertible - a remarkably quick turnaround.

Since the battery-powered Mini was launched in 2020, it has been a sales success and now represents around a fifth of sales.

BMW is reported to be in talks with the British government to continue electric Mini production at the Oxford plant. It had been thought that there was no chance of the British factory holding on to any EV manufacturing because BMW is already committed to building upcoming new electric models in China and Germany.

The Mini Electric Convertible will be a rare sight - only 999 are being built, with just 150 coming to the UK
The Mini Electric Convertible will be a rare sight - only 999 are being built, with just 150 coming to the UK