MINI Electric Concept is a first look at MINI’s electric future

MINI has revealed an electric concept ahead of a debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show, giving is the first idea of how an electric MINI will look when it arrives in a couple of years.

Last year, MINI revealed it is to build an electric car, and that it will go in to production in 2019. And this is a first look at what the new Electric MINI could offer.

But this first look is all about the design of the MINI EV rather than what powers it, as BMW are revealing nothing about the electric gubbins, and haven’t even bothered giving the EV concept an interior.

Perhaps previewing the design direction of the MINI in the coming years, the MINI EV is a more sculptured shape and devoid of much of the bulbousness and chrome embellishments of the current car.

There’s a sculptured look to the side, the waistline looks higher, there’s air vents behind the front wheel arches, LED lights – with the tail lights forming a Union Jack graphic – and a streamlined, blanked-off MINI grille. 

Even if this isn’t a look at all future MINIs, it should be; the look is more cohesive, less blobby and much less a pastiche than the current car, which does seem to have lost its way a bit in the current iteration.

The MINI EV, when it arrives in 2019, will be built in Oxford, although it will use electric powertrains sourced from germany, and doubtless closely related to that in the BMW i3.

That will mean a range of around 200 miles, a single electric motor and up to 200bhp – and instant torque – on offer.