Mini Made an Electric Convertible Cooper SE, But Sadly It’s Not for Sale
One-off, not-for-sale and really, really cute.
Mini lately has been making cars that don't really live up to their hype. Well, no more because it's made a convertible version of the Mini EV so fun it's calling it a toy. The only catch? You can never buy one.
Although it's not officially being billed as a concept (because it's made out of bits of other Minis) the convertible is a "unique specimen" that Mini's billing as the perfect heatwave whip. It's a four-seater and Mini reckons it's the only premium convertible in the small EV category. And it's not making any more after this one.
The car's made out of the body of a Mini Cooper SE Convertible and has all the same proportions, as well as keeping the same trunk capacity for you and your three pals to hit the road with. It uses the Mini Cooper SE Electric powertrain and has pretty similar stats, as you'd probably expect, putting out 184 horsepower and with a range of 143 miles.
The soft top on the car takes 18 seconds to open or close and it can do it while the car's in motion at up to 18 miles per hour. Which is all great stuff but does beg the question of: Why not sell these?
Making a car out of existing cars' components presumably makes it pretty easy to do, which means Mini could easily make many more EV convertibles. But doesn't want to. So here it is, the one and only Mini Cooper SE Electric Convertible, expect to see it at car shows when the temperature's up and it'll make its debut at the Mini Takes The States rally, starting in Vermont and heading down to the finish line in Greenville, South Carolina.
Mini said it's part of showcasing the brand's fun side but there's not much more of a buzzkill than keeping all the toys to yourself. The decision to write "This toy is electric" down the side, rendering it ugly enough that no one could possibly want one of these is another bold decision in Mini's announcement that it's made this car and you can't have it.
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