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Mini Aceman debuts at Beijing Auto Show as a little, all-electric crossover

This here is the totally new Mini Aceman, and it’s an all-electric, Mini crossover. Splitting the size difference between the properly mini Mini Cooper and large Mini Countryman, it fills the space previously occupied by the now-discontinued Clubman, but does so without a gasoline-powered option (or cute barn doors in the rear). Before we get ahead of ourselves, though, MiniÂ’s made clear that the Aceman is not yet confirmed for U.S. sales, and the global debut itself just took place at the Beijing Auto Show. So, as of now, this little EV is definitely destined for international markets, but weÂ’ll need to wait and see if Mini sees fit to bring it here.  Two versions will hit the market initially, the Aceman E and the Aceman SE. The base E is fitted with a single electric motor good for 184 horsepower and 214 pound-feet of torque, enough for a 0-62 mph time of 7.9 seconds. It also gets a 42.5-kilowatt-hour battery pack that Mini says gives it a 192-mile range on the optimistic WLTP test cycle – fast charging peaks at 75 kW in this model. Meanwhile, the Aceman SE gets a more potent electric motor good for 218 horsepower and 243 pound-feet of torque, reducing its 0-62 mph time to 7.1 seconds. The SE also gets a larger 54.2 kWh battery pack, increasing range to 252 miles on the WLTP cycle – it charges better than the E, too, peaking at 95 kW. Do note that both versions would cover much less ground on the EPA test, which is a more realistic barometer for real-world driving than the WLTP test. Coming in about 14 inches shorter and three inches narrower than the big Countryman, the Aceman is bound to be a more fun-to-drive and cheaper EV. We donÂ’t know much about its underpinnings now, but Mini says its suspension, steering, powertrain and braking systems are all tuned with fun driving in mind. Its outward appearance isnÂ’t a replica of, but closely follows the design direction proposed by the Aceman Concept back in 2022. Many elements weÂ’ve seen in the new Cooper and Countryman apply here, too, such as the customizable light patterns, flat surfacing and general minimalism to the styling. Wheel options between 17-19 inches will be available, and four different trims with varying styles will be, too. One of those four will be a JCW trim, but itÂ’s not meant to be a performance model, instead sticking to sporty appearance add-ons like a Chili Red roof and hood stripes alongside high-gloss black accents all around the exterior.

Mini apologizes with chocolate rose after spamming customer's inbox

If you're a manufacturer, there are only so many ways you can say "sorry" after your automated e-mail system goes berzerk and spams everyone on your mailing list with hundreds of the same message. Mini recently found itself in that very spot, and rather than respond with a sheepish mea culpa, the company's PR team took a different tack by sending owners a very unique gift box. How unique? Inside, one owner found a set of chocolate roses, a roll of duct tape and a genuine can of Spam.
In an accompanying note, the company said it hoped the sweets would help patch things up between the company and the victims of the e-mail barrage, but in the event that wasn't enough to do the trick, the duct tape was there to help out. And the can of Spam? That tagged along just for stress release. Apparently the canned meat is squeezable. We wouldn't know. You can check out full photos of the gift box here.

Mini teases high-performance electric hatch as a safety car

Mini has made it clear that it's working on some sort of high-performance electric Mini. It even released photos of such a prototype back in December. Now it seems we may get a look at a more finished example in the near future. The company put out the above teaser on Twitter. The teaser is quite light on information, but the hashtag "#ElectricThrillMaximised" makes it pretty clear that it's not running on gasoline or diesel. Playing with the image in Photoshop, we were able to brighten it up enough to see that there aren't any tailpipes, either. Instead, there's a rear fog light in the middle of the diffuser. What's also interesting is that from what we could make out of the fender flares, they're very wide, but they don't look like the unusual carbon fiber pieces from the John Cooper Works GP. So Mini has done some work to make it a little more than just an electrified GP. Of course, we've skipped over the obvious part of this teaser, and that's the bright lights that seem to identify the Mini as a pace car or safety car. We think this Mini might become a safety car for Formula E. Not only would an electric car make sense for the electric racing series, but BMW has provided i model cars as safety cars for the series for a few years now, despite the company no longer competing. Certainly BMW could also use something like the new i4, but with Mini going fully electric a few years down the road, why not start associating the brand and the alternative fuel now? We're not sure when the car will be revealed, though. The teaser didn't provide any pertinent information, and the Formula E season is already underway. But hopefully it won't be too long, since it looks like the car is finished, at least for pace car purposes. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.