2014 Mini Hardtop Cooper S on 2040-cars

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BMW Group announces an armada of EVs that includes the full Mini range

BMW plans to significantly increase the number of electric cars in its range during the 2020s. It outlined plans to launch several battery-powered models, including M cars, and transform Mini into an EV-only brand by 2030. In the medium-term future, the firm's lineup will include electric variants of the 5 Series, the 7 Series, and the X1, though they will likely be based on the next-generation cars, not on the models currently found in showrooms. They'll join the i4 — a 3 Series-sized sedan with a fastback-like design — and the iX crossover in the lineup. BMW hopes to have at least one electric model representing it in about 90% of its current market segments by 2023, and it realistically expects that EVs will account for approximately 50% of its global sales by 2030. Beyond 2025, the Munich-based firm will align its range with a new strategy it calls Neue Klasse, a name borrowed from a series of enthusiast-friendly sedans and coupes sold during the 1960s and the 1970s; the 2002 is arguably the best-known Neue Klasse model. Fast-forward to the 2020s, and the designation will denote cars built with a new IT and software architecture, powered by new-generation electric technology, and designed to be sustainable. EVs shaped by the Neue Klasse approach to design will be positioned in many market segments, ranging from mass-produced cars (like the 1 Series hatchback sold in Europe) to high-performance M models. Most will be powered exclusively by batteries, but some will be available with a hydrogen-electric powertrain. Highly automated driving technology will be available, too, though BMW stressed its EVs will be enjoyable to drive. Crucially, the firm plans to increase its annual revenue by offering configurable and bookable features available during a car's entire life cycle; think of this system as an a la carte menu for cars. If you buy a used 2027 5 Series in 2031, for example, you'll theoretically have the ability to configure it with many of the options and features you want even if it wasn't ordered new with them. Some might even be enabled for a pre-determined amount of time. You might not need heated seats if you live in Tucson, but you might want them for a weekend if you're going skiing. What about Mini? Confirming a wave of recent rumors, BMW-owned Mini will exclusively sell electric cars in less than a decade.

Mini Minor to be co-developed with Toyota

It was back in 2011 when Mini first showcased the prospect of an even smaller hatchback with the Rocketman concept at the Geneva Motor Show. In the nearly four years since, parent company BMW has hemmed and hawed on the possibility of putting it into production, but the latest word from Europe has it that the project is a go. According to Automobile magazine, Mini is realigning its product portfolio into five pillars: the essential hardtop we've already seen (available in two/three- and four/five-doors), the convertible, the upcoming new Clubman wagon (coming this summer with full-size auxiliary suicide doors on both sides), the next-gen Countryman crossover in 2016 and two new model lines. One will be the production version of the Superleggera roadster concept, earmarked for 2018. The other will be the Minor, a smaller city car reviving a long-gone model name and presaged by the aforementioned Rocketman concept. But for that last one, Mini won't go it alone. To develop the mini Mini, BMW will reportedly turn to its partnership with Toyota. The relationship is already set to yield a new Supra and Z4 and share fuel cell and other technologies. But this would broaden the partnership to include a small hatchback. However rather than use the existing (or next-gen) Aygo, which is already built under joint venture with PSA Peugeot Citroen (with which BMW previously had a joint engine venture), word has it that the BMW and Toyota will develop a new platform for the project – one that will be used by both partners. The new product plan doesn't leave much room for the Mini Coupe and Roadster (which have already been discontinued), for the Paceman three-door crossover (which will suffer the same fate) or for the projected seven-seater minivan. But the addition of the new Superleggera roadster and super-mini Mini aren't likely to leave us wanting for either. Related Video:

The 2020 Mini John Cooper Works GP is overwrought and automatic

As we’ve said many, many times before: Nurburgring times are not the measuring stick automakers hold them out to be. They donÂ’t happen under controlled circumstances with independent observers and bone-stock cars, generally. So that makes the new 2020 Mini John Cooper Works GPÂ’s exact time – which BMW officially fudges as “under 8 minutes” and which spy shots peg at 7:56.69 – fairly meaningless. WhatÂ’s not meaningless are the optics. Regardless of whether others cheat, that time isnÂ’t particularly impressive, behind the likes of the Renault Megane R.S. Trophy-R, the Honda Civic Type R, and the Volkswagen GTI Clubsport. LetÂ’s say, hypothetically, that all of those faster ‘Ring runners were Â… ringers. Maybe the Mini isnÂ’t. But strip away this stopwatch discussion and what remains is perhaps even more controversial. The John Cooper Works GP is a busy little thing, be-winged and spackled with GP decals and red accents and unusual overfenders. And itÂ’s an automatic – no manual here. Certainly all this will excite some, but itÂ’s bound to create some controversy for its sheer audaciousness. LetÂ’s start with the styling. Deep, bright red accents abound, looking almost like enamel. The trim is otherwise darkened, even the badging. That large split wing above the rear hatch has a distinct sci-fi vibe, like it was ripped off the concept art for a 2042 fusion-powered race car. Whether it meshes with the loosely-defined retro vibe of the underlying Mini Cooper is up to you. The most striking exterior element is the overfender treatment. TheyÂ’re a combination of a plastic understructure and a chopped carbon fiber material cap with a hexagonal seam motif. In pictures, it looks a bit like fiberboard – probably not the look Mini was going for. The panels stand proud of the fenders, too, especially at the top seam. If weÂ’re being generous, they look quite bold. But it seems that this element will live or die on how it appears in the flesh, so weÂ’ll wait until then to analyze it more. The styling is going to create some polarization, and so too will the mechanical spec and performance numbers. The turbo inline-four makes 301 horsepower – respectable, sure, but not outlandish. The 0-60 time is off the pace compared to the superlative Civic Type R, which clocks a 4.7-second run according to Car and Driver (Honda is mum on 0-60 times, by the way). The GP? 5.0 seconds. Good, but not the best – just like its claimed ‘Ring time.