By Robert Farago
July 9, 2008
Cypselus von Frankenberg. Now that's what I call a name. (Even Mel Brooks would approve.) It belongs to MINI's spokesman. When Cypselus (can I call you Cypselus?) isn't busy calling media outlets to tell them to CAPITALIZE THE GOD DAMN NAME FOR CHRIST'S SAKE, he's updating journalists on the latest MINI variant. Did you know the MINI Mars Lander is due soon? Speaking of which, Automotive News [sub] reveals that the German-owned British brand is going to sell an electric vehicle version of the Cooper in the Golden State. "The [500] electric Minis [ARRGGGHHHH] are being built at the Mini [NOOOOOOO] factory in Oxford, England, without engines, gearboxes or fuel tanks, then shipped to Munich, Germany, where they are being fitted with electric powertrains." Needless to say BMW will take a bath on every EV MINI they sell. But the PR value will be priceless. Not only will the vehicles help satisfy CA Zero Emissions regs, but they'll be "leased to selected customers" (i.e. Hollywood's green glitterati). Hang on; how will bystanders distinguish an EV MINI from a "regular" MINI? "The electric Minis are painted silver and have yellow roofs." Although range and recharge times are unspecified (of course), it's unlikely that EV MINI will be slower than the original, 1.4-liter, 90hp MINI ONE, a vehicle that kept bumping into itself (i.e. it couldn't get out of its own way). But it's not impossible.
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POWERED
July 9th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Didn’t they learn the lesson of the EV-1?
They should sell these outright if only to avoid the possibility that some beaner in the future will want to recall all the leased vehicles and send them to the crusher.
Oh, and silver with a yellow roof misses out on a great co-branding opportunity. They could paint them black with a copper top or silver with a black top and cash in.
If I had one of these I’d put a huge “+” on the roof and and “-” down near the rocker panels.
July 9th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
“Needless to say BMW will take a bath on every EV MINI they sell.
Don’t they know that they NEED to make a profit on every car they sell??!?!?
Why, they’re being a veritable copy of GM in this sense!!!! Shameless promotion and losing money on EV’s!!!!
OMG!!!
July 9th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
There’s nothing MINI about capitalization. Wouldn’t “mini” make more sense? To go along with their green image, they need to be more responsible with their shift key consumption.
Also, is that a life-size Automoblox in the picture?
July 9th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
If we’ve learned anything regarding the EV-1 fiasco, it’s that no one has learned anything regarding the EV-1 fiasco.
July 9th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Gawdodirt, the one difference between BMW and GM is that BMW actually makes profit on their other cars. I think they can take a hit on a whole 500 cars. Of course, if this was GM, 500 would be equal to the number of actual CARS they sold in the 2nd Q.
July 9th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
I believe the year 2010 failed to be mentioned anywhere in this story. What gives?
July 9th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Great. More MINI’s no one can get their hands on.
Stupid things are so popular the used ones cost almost as much as the new ones.
Who do they think they are, Honda?
July 9th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
tony-e30, The car will probably be leased in 2009 as a 2010 model.
July 9th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Somebody needs to get that man in the photo out of that gigantic mobile popcorn popper before he gets hurt.
July 9th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
I wouldn’t be so quick to proclaim that BMW will be taking a bath on those 500 EV Mini’s its going to bring to the U.S. BMW pays some of the largest CAFE fines each year on their products. This will have a positive effect (although likely a splash in the bucket) on their CAFE average but I wonder if they might get additional benefits/tax breaks under current U.S. regulations?
July 9th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
I wouldn’t be so quick to proclaim that BMW will be taking a bath on those 500 EV Mini’s its going to bring to the U.S.
I doubt that the lease payments will be sufficient to cover the cost of the battery pack, let alone everything else.
Plus, the cars won’t likely have any residual value at all. Instead of being sold as used or CPO’d cars, they’ll probably just be scrapped, which takes thousands of more dollars off the table.
I suspect that it’s just a PR exercise. Smart move, all of the publicity and positive buzz should more than cover the expense, even though the cars themselves should bleed red.
July 9th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
“Loose money on every one” and “largest Cafe fines”
Come on you guys! Think of how much BMW will learn from this experiment!
Is there a market?
How does the car handle the weight of the batteries?
Can all parts of the drive line handle the torque of the electric motor?
Where is the best placement for the batteries?
How does everything work in the cold of Northern CA and the heat of Southern CA?
GM experimented with small electric pick ups (S10’s I think) for only 2 or maybe 3 years back in the 1970’s. These trucks were used by electric power companies but a few got into the hands of individuals. I saw and had demonstrated one from the first year and one from the second year of production. The differences were striking – GM had made great improvements in just one year, mostly in the controls for the batteries and in the dash board readouts.
Who knows what sort of vehicles we would have now if GM had kept making improvements. Who knows what BMW electric mini’s will be like in 10 years if BMW keeps making improvements.
Let’s sit back and enjoy the experiment.
July 9th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Actually, with European nations pushing hard to implement carbon footprint taxes, this might actually give BMW a nice break from them.
July 9th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
It would be cool to see how they implement this, as an old “new” MINI (hooray) with a blown engine would have another upgrade path (for the brave at heart).
The all-caps MINI is the joke, kinda like “jumbo shrimp”.
July 9th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Faster than a Tesla?
July 10th, 2008 at 9:26 am
Hey, that’s the Courréges Zooop in the picture. Do I win something because I know that it has a 150 kW AC Propulsion drivetrain, weighs 690 kg and runs on lithium polymer batteries?
It competed in the Challenge Bibendum a few years ago. Courréges always gets some colorful Michelins.