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Mini reveals it's developing an electric John Cooper Works model

We at Autoblog are extremely fond of the Mini Cooper SE electric car. So we're also excited to learn that Mini is also developing an electric John Cooper Works model. Unfortunately, that's all Mini has actually said about a future electric John Cooper Works model: that it's in development. Anything else about it, such as how hardcore it will be, or what motor it will use, is entirely up for speculation. All we have to go on are photos of the prototype. From the looks of it, the prototype is simply a Mini John Cooper Works (JCW) GP, but with an electric powertrain. The entire body, even the giant wing and funky fender flares, is the same as the uncompromising GP, except for the grille. The grille is the mostly solid example used on the Cooper SE. There aren't any tailpipes on this car either, for obvious reasons. This certainly suggests Mini is planning a mean electric JCW, and not just a slightly stiffer upgrade from the S/SE models. It raises big questions about the motor, though. The gas-powered GP is the most powerful production Mini in history with over 300 horsepower. Only one BMW motor has been used in a Mini so far: the base i3 motor, which makes 181 horsepower. The i3s has a punchier motor that makes 195 horsepower that would probably drop in easily, but it wouldn't seem powerful enough for a GP-type car. Perhaps the iX3's motor, which makes 286 horsepower, could fit? It would certainly be near enough to the GP's engine. Maybe even one of the motors from the dual-motor, 500-horsepower BMW iX would do the job? We'll just have to wait and see, and it's hard to say just how long, since Mini gave no information on reveals. Hopefully it won't be too long if the company is testing minimally camouflaged electric GP prototypes. Related Video:  

BMW will invest $750 million to build Mini EVs in the UK

LONDON — BMW said on Monday it will invest 600 million pounds ($750 million) in its UK plants to take its Mini brand all-electric by 2030, giving a fresh boost to Britain's car industry after years of Brexit-related uncertainty. From 2026, the German premium carmaker will make two electric models at its Mini plant in Oxford — the Mini Cooper 3-door and the compact crossover Mini Aceman. The plant will make only electric models as of 2030 and many of those cars will be exported to markets around the world, BMW production chief Milan Nedeljkovic said. Speaking to journalists in Oxford, Nedeljkovic said the company wants to use batteries made in Europe in the new models made in Oxford, but did not specify whether they would come from the UK, saying it depending on the attractiveness of the market for its suppliers. The same two models will also be made in China and exports of those cars will begin in 2024. Also speaking in Oxford, British business minister Kemi Badenoch said: "We want auto manufacturing not just to stay in the UK, but to be the best in the world, and this is part of that story". Badenoch declined to comment on the level of subsidy to be received by BMW for Mini production, reported by British media to be 75 million pounds. BMW will also invest in its plant in Swindon which makes parts for Mini models. It was too soon to say what would happen to the engine plant in Hams Hall, near Birmingham, Nedeljkovic said. The small, fast and affordable original Mini went on sale in 1959 and has remained popular under BMW since it revived the brand in 2001, but its future in Britain has been uncertain for years, exacerbated by fears that Brexit would prompt the company to relocate production to Germany, China or elsewhere. Still, the industry remains on edge with both Britain and Europe's carmakers calling for a delay in the implementation of post-Brexit "rules of origin", under which 45% of the value of an EV being sold in the European Union must come from Britain or the EU from 2024 to avoid tariffs. "The [auto] industry is screaming at the EU," Badenoch said in Oxford, arguing that tariffs on EU and UK-made cars would only help Chinese manufacturers and that more time was needed to build local capacity. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Mini may have overexpanded, some models may not be replaced

Surprise, surprise. According to Edmunds, Mini may be looking to reduce the number of vehicles in its range, which has recently expanded to include a total of seven offerings (not to mention the copious varieties of configurations found within each line). When Mini relaunched in the early 2000s, it did so with one model, the Cooper Hardtop, and has since added the Convertible, Clubman, Countryman, Coupe, Roadster and Paceman. It looks like those ambitions of expanding the range to include up to 10 models may have been a bit optimistic.
"When we start to replace models, I think you will see that we won't replace every model exactly," Jim McDowell, Vice President of Mini USA, told Edmunds in an interview. The brand's core models right now are the Hardtop and Countryman, and of the roughly 66,200 vehicles that Mini sold in the United States last year, these two vehicles accounted for some 75 percent of total sales.
McDowell declined to mention any specific models that may not be replaced in the lineup's next generation, though our best guess is that ultra-niche vehicles like the Coupe (pictured) or Clubman. As for replacing some of the current models with new products, the only clear gap we can see in the brand's lineup is a smaller car like the Rocketman concept, though we've been told several times that a mini-Mini isn't going to happen. Be sure to let us know what Mini models you'd like to see kept or axed in Comments below.