BMW, Mini’s parent company, is taking the vehicle in a decidedly greener direction with the Mini E — a factory-built, fully electric Mini with an estimated range of 150 miles or more.
After the Mini E’s debut at the upcoming Los Angeles auto show, 500 Mini Es will be distributed to customers in California, New York, and New Jersey early next year as part of a pilot project to road-test the car. Select private and corporate customers will lease the cars for one year with the possibility of an extension, during which the Mini Es will be inspected every 3000 miles or six months.
Extra weight prevents the Mini E from beating the Mini S in terms of performance, but it matches the nonturbocharged model, scooting from 0 to 62 mph in 8.5 seconds according to Mini, though its top speed is electronically limited to 95 mph. While not as quick to 60 as a Mini S, the Mini E will likely feel quick off the line thanks to the electric motor’s instantaneous torque.
Charge times will depend on how much power is available in your wall, but BMW says the wallbox can charge a completely drained Mini E to full power in as little as two-and-a-half hours. A full charge will give the Mini E a range of 150 miles or more while pulling only 28 kW-hrs of electricity from your wall, according to BMW.
BMW plans to have all 500 cars built by the end of 2008 and ready to distribute to testers in the U.S. BMW is also considering testing some vehicles in Europe as well, but has not made a final decision yet. At the end of the test, all the cars will be collected and returned to BMW for extensive review by BMW, after which we’d expect to see the Mini E to eventually find a permanent place in the Mini Cooper lineup.
Wow! I wish I could talk them into one cranky old geek high-altitude tester in northern New Mexico.
where was I when they were asking for beta testers?
Excellent! This is where we all should be headed.
After all, how many of us drive more than 150 miles in a regular day?
Just rent a car for those long road trips. Overall it will be a lot cheaper.
coming up on PBS.
who killed the electric Mini?
where is the diesel 2?
Lets see, 28kw in 2.5 hours. Thats 11.2kw per hour, or 100 amps at 110 volts, or 50 amps from a 220 volt outlet.
Thats not exactly your typical “wallbox”
A more typical 15 amp, 110 volt circuit would require 17 hours for a full charge.
#5 “A more typical 15 amp, 110 volt circuit would require 17 hours for a full charge.”
Shhh. Don’t want anyone to know that they won’t be able to recharge effectively at work or home…
#3 More correctly, why was the Electric Mini stillborn? LOL
Hilarious. #5 and #6, nutballs who can’t RTFA, as usual.
#4 – just a visitor, I guess, who doesn’t read the blog regularly:
http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=19105
#7 mold said, “Hilarious. #5 and #6, nutballs who can’t RTFA, as usual.”
Here’s the data from the article. Where’s the error in the post? Or, you don’t have clue?
“A full charge will give the Mini E a range of 150 miles or more while pulling only 28 kW-hrs of electricity from your wall, according to BMW.
Sorry, you are not seeing past the hype.
The wall box increases amperage, but does so at the cost of reduced voltage. The power (watts) is still the same. You cant magically create power (watts).
I see that the article says:The wallbox will increase the amperage from your household circuit and feed it to the Mini, allowing for much faster charging times.
But, 28kw is still 28kw, there is no magic about changing the amps. If you need 28kw, you need 28kw. Higher current lower volts does not change the power.
Of course, the charge voltage must match the battery voltage.
#9 Some people (#7 maybe) never took basic electronics & think Ohm’s law and such has to do with Congress. These are the people that the article is aimed at.
#8 – Cow Paddy, and numbers 4 & 5,
From the article for those who can read:
So, yes, I’d expect some loss from the step up transformer. However, I think they accounted for that loss in their calculation, which is why they specified the amount of power from the wall, not the amount delivered to the car, which would, of necessity, be less.
This may also account for the fact that the cost of this (at about 25c/kwh) will come out to an equivalent in gasoline (at about $3/gallon) of about 60 miles per gallon equivalent. Of course, as costs of either power or gasoline vary, so will the cost to run the car.
For all those who are lulled into a false sense of security by the current low(er) gasoline prices, when you buy a vehicle, you’d be smart to bet on much higher fuel costs than we currently see.
Electric vehicles are the way to go because as we clean the grid we also clean our fleet. Further, the efficiency of an electric motor relative to a gasoline motor means that even if we continue to power our cars with coal fired electrical plants, we still reduce CO2 output by about a third.
#11 “o, yes, I’d expect some loss from the step up transformer. However, I think they accounted for that loss in their calculation, ”
Step up transformers increase voltage not amps. They must be rewiring from the power distribution panel connected to the mains coming into the house to create a new higher amp circuit.
[Bingo! – ed.]
I bought a couple of my girlfriends one of these. They love these little cars!
If the price is right (which it probably won’t be), these things should sell like hotcakes.
Just another car that can be easily passed.
Meh, until they get the millage up and the charge time down, I will not even consider an electric car. I am a one car person, and I am not about to buy a car that is that limited in its usefulness, especially considering how much cars cost.
#16 If this pans out (see link) you’ll get hat you want. http://www.eestorbatteries.com/index.html
#17 – My guess is that the charger would have to be very high voltage. Capacitors are the way of the future. I think, eventually, they’ll replace batteries entirely for many uses.
#15 – James – Electric cars accelerate rapidly when at speed. It’s more likely you’ll get passed by one. My hybrid will go from 60 to 80 in about three seconds.
15-another relic who thinks that yet another 300hp car a la the new camaro is what we need.
let me guess, you think that the domestic car companies are on the right track, huh?
I’d take one in TN. I promise to drive it to work and everywhere I drive.