Electric MINI spotted in Munich, expected at 2008 LA Auto Show
By Darren Murph 
posted Sep 22nd 2008 10:37AM
posted Sep 22nd 2008 10:37AM
[Via RegHardware]
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and how is this a spyshot... just go into any dealership of a normal mini, and hey presto, an electric.
very true...I hope that BMW can make this economical. If they could make this in the 20-30k range it will kill the prius and possibly to volt if it has the range...If they can make this car go 150+ miles on a charge...Im sold
for your information, this is a REAL spyshot
http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Secret-new-cars/Search-Results/Spyshots/Mini-goes-electric-Spy-photos-of-battery-powered-Mini/
tom,
I was referring to the use of the term 'spyshot'. the term for me is applicable when describing a car that has been photographed in a relatively covert situation, either on an obscure test track, or with the vehicle actually having some semblance of 'disguise'; so that the new shape/design of the vehicle is preserve from prying eyes.
the vehicle itself in this shot look identical to any other mini. the fact that it has the words 'hybrid' written on it, kinda makes my point, don't you think ?
perhaps the term 'photograph' might be more appropriate in this case.
At least the foreign companies figured out the hybrid concept.
Our American companies insist on hybrid pick-ups and SUVs.... uhh... for all those environmentally conscience Escalade drivers that want 13mpg instead of 12mpg.
The GM hybrid Tahoe gets 20mpg, not 13. I believe the Escalade gets 19.
GM has plenty of other hybrids that aren't SUVs. They just aren't two-mode.
me wants one! i love them things. I could park it in the back of my pickup.
I actually have a mini, and I gotta say my favorite part is how that little engine ROARS. If they add engine sounds I am a taker!
The minis used for the underground scene in the italian job were electric so I don't get what the fuss is about
Would you care to share your sources??
Those weren't production cars, they were custom jobs. These are real cars that people can buy.
GREAT movie. It's what made me fell in love with the Mini. Never drove one, but they seem like a fun car to drive. Only thing is down in south FL I see a ton of women and old people driving them. Now I wouldn't get a convertible one or one that's a light color, but the people I see driving them makes me a tad self conscious if I were to drive one.
1) mooomnoomomonnonomon is entirely correct. Kudos for the trivia.
2) The first italian job is infinatly better in every respect than the new one.
I just hope the price is right :)
Bloody Germans. Long live Bushoil !
I live far, far and away from the US of As so long live Chavezoil?
Fun fact: Three MINI's were modified with electric engines for the shooting of "The Italian Job" for the subway scene, because of the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Electric MOTOR. An engine can sometimes be called a motor but an electric motor is never called an engine.
I guess the market for the Cherolet Volt just got reduced to people with big butts... This Mini is sexy, just like the people who drive them... he he he...
But alas, I do not drive a mini... but I like where this is going.. small electric cars as opposed to where GM will probably end up... selling SUV sized electric cars that will never see a construction site... only mini malls....
"But alas, I do not drive a mini... but I like where this is going.. small electric cars as opposed to where GM will probably end up... selling SUV sized electric cars that will never see a construction site... only mini malls...."
Maybe, but premature criticism at this point. GM has recently brought the Solstice/Sky and the Astra, both small vehicles, and the new Volt is really on a 4-door sedan. I see them trending down, using hybrid technology for larger vehicles as a stopgap in order to keep those sales from diving from mileage concerns while they reconfigure their product line. GM is also the company that developed the "skateboard" chassis concept, shrinking all the drivetrain, suspension and steering components into a drive-by-wire, slablike platform onto which many types of bodies can be bolted. Although originally developed for fuel-cell vehicles, it's suitable for battery-powered electrics vehicles as well.
Note that the gas-fueled Mini isn't particularly fuel efficient for its size and that we have no idea how efficient the electric version will be.
Honestly with about 2 or 3 grand and some time on your hands you can make any car electrical...
If it is an electric vehicle (with no exhaust) then how is it a hybrid as well? Hybrid's require 2 power sources...
This could be an electric-fuel-cell hybrid?
fuel cell still = electricity which =/= drivetrain type
These electric Mini's were test driven over a year ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pd_L7aEotGM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0Sy7XnJBPE
Loving it...
I don't think you're allowed to take a spy shot with anything better than a cameraphone with a 1mp sensor and broken lens..
I love my new mini and will get this if it hits the states :)
They are bringing 500 summer 2009, but only to California if I remember correctly. I would love to be able to get one when I graduate.
This is the article with the highest amount of low ranked comments I've ever seen
highest lowest rank
Why Mini? Why not Mitsubishi Lancer?
Imagine: affordable plug-in hybrid...
Wow, what's with the flood of negative ratings today? Monday syndrome?
love the irony
I wanted my next car to be an EV, so this is fantastic news. Well, if it really is an EV. If it's a hybrid, well, then there is the $30k Tesla in 2011. However, the linked article says it's an EV, so I'm going to presume, and hope, that that's what it is. Really I'd rather give my money to upstart Tesla, which has to be credited with pushing EVs forward, and pushing Mini into making this car, but 2011 is a lot further off then 2009 and I don't know how long my old Escort will last. One way or the other, my next car is going to be an EV.
Well, maybe you have issues, but my choice of car has nothing to do with my junk or where I like to put it.
This comment makes no since because the original was deleted...
electric car will only be good when they hook up a charging system that keeps the battery charged like a gas car
You! Out of the Gene Pool!
By "charging system" I beleive you mean alternator. And, as it turns out, converting electrical energy to mechanical energy and then back to electrical via alternator is actually a lossy system...hmm who woulda thunk
Folks wake up! The fully functional 100% electric car was available in Caifornia over 12 years ago. GM had the EV-1 and Toyota had the RAV-4. Both got close to 125 miles to a charge. Then GM decided, despite massive protest, to take all the EV-1's from their lessees and crush them in a junk yard. Then they sold the rights to the battery to Exxon. Now is it starting to make sense? Hybrids are a joke. Think about it. There was a 125 miles to a charge battery over 12 years ago. So why do hybrids get only 30-40 miles to a charge? Backwards technology? Nope, simply the auto manufacturers, despite facing extinction, continue to cling to the internal combustion engine because of the money made from it. And don't think the oil companies don't have a say in the matter too. If you wanna great education, see the movie "Who Killed The Electric Car".