Current classics: MINI Recharged muscles in on the restomod racket

Electrek.co by Jo Borrás

[{"selector":"#anim-30b018b9-280a-41f5-8f10-3b2a4b641a5f","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Thanks to a passionate team of enthusiasts at MINI Plant Oxford, sustainable driving fun is now available in a classic car body – with factory backing!

[{"selector":"#anim-4ffb7c55-a7f6-4da5-9aab-ac9a437d9e83","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] The MINI Recharged program stuffs an original Mini with pioneering technology in the spirit of making a more circular economy.

“If Alec Issigonis could design the classic Mini again today,” reads the BMW Group press release, “the iconic small car would have an electric motor.”

[{"selector":"#anim-2778ecbb-0b1b-4d8e-969e-9ef82c7eb698","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

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And – well, you can’t get much more “least” than zero.

[{"selector":"#anim-3779c0d2-b80c-4ee1-a266-5229c8206154","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

[{"selector":"#anim-39c1cc16-2d9f-4679-80d7-e210615f2db9","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] The conversion of classic Mini sedans into EVs combines those traditional “MINI” values with a more future-proof technology than the original, 34 hp, 848 cc internal combustion engine from the Mark 1 Mini could provide.

[{"selector":"#anim-dad8a383-a940-49a2-a65a-8c36d79c8f17","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] The idea for MINI Recharged was born in 2018 and presented at the New York Auto Show, even before MINI began selling the all-electric MINI Cooper SE .

[{"selector":"#anim-a9c221d0-1eed-4c6b-9a62-9ec900d19d7f","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] The reactions were so positive that a dedicated team from MINI Plant Oxford set to work and developed the plan to make a factory-backed EV conversion offer available to customers who own (or, would like to own) a classic Mini.

Learn more about the 'recharged' Mini's tech specs, see additional photos of the conversion, and read Electrek's take at Electrek.co.

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