Mini Recharged Provides Owners of Classic Mini Option To Turn Cars Into Electric Vehicles

BMW Group has produced an interesting twist to its popular Minis with the launch of the Mini Recharged. The British brand first revealed this electric concept back in 2018 at the New York Auto Show, putting batteries inside a classic Mini. The company got hugely positive feedback with the electrified Mini, and the BMW Group has decided to make this concept a reality.

Mini is inviting owners of its classic vehicles to do an electric conversion and turn their cars into emission-free machines. The British automaker has not yet announced how much this process of putting modern electric powertrains inside classic Minis will cost owners, but the good thing about this conversion is that the switch is not permanent.

Only reversible changes are made to the classic Minis, meaning the combustion engines removed from the vehicles can be switched back again depending on the owner's preference. These combustion engines will be marked and stored by Mini to be used again by the owners in the future.

Mini Recharged more powerful than classic Minis

What makes the Mini Recharged such an enticing option for classic Mini owners is the performance it promises to provide. The Mini Recharged comes with an electric motor that can generate a maximum of 120 horsepower. It takes approximately nine seconds for the Mini Recharged to reach 62 miles per hour from a standstill position, which is three to four seconds quicker than a stock Mini's 0-62.

Mini has not given any details yet regarding the vehicle's battery capacity, but the British firm did say that the predicted range of the car at full charge will be around 100 miles (160 kilometers).

The original center instrument cluster on the Mini's dashboard will be kept in its original form, but it will now display information regarding the car's drive temperature, selected gear, speed, and range as part of its transformation. A dedicated team from Mini Plant Oxford will handle the development and retrofitting of the electric powertrain to the classic Minis.

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Mini's sales increase in 2021

Mini has proven to be a valuable brand for the BMW Group, with the British premium carmaker increasing its worldwide vehicle sales in 2021 by 3.3 percent. Mini sold 302,144 units last year, with its electrified models experiencing a boom in demand. The carmaker sold 53,243 electric vehicles in 2021, a 64.3 percent increase compared to its 2020 numbers. That accounted for around 18 percent of Mini's total global sales in 2021.

Last year, Mini's most popular vehicle was the fully electric Mini Cooper SE. Mini sold 34,851 units of the Mini Cooper SE worldwide in 2021, meaning every third customer of a Mini 3-door chose an emission-free model. Mini's plug-in hybrids enjoyed significant sales as well, with the Mini Cooper SE Countryman ALL4 recording 18,392 deliveries.

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