EV drop-top Mini Cooper S E Convertible becomes reality

Initially commissioned as a one-off prototype last year, Mini, as a result of overwhelming demand, has put the all-electric Cooper S E Convertible into production, albeit in limited numbers.

Prototype to production

“Three years ago, we launched the all-electric Mini Cooper S E, and today one in five Minis sold in Europe is an all-electric Mini. This success has spurred us to implement the small series of the Mini Cooper S E Convertible within only a few months,” Mini Brand CEO Stefanie Wurst said.

On-sale from April, the Convertible will solely be offered in two colours, White Silver and Enigmatic Black, with special touches comprising Resolute Bronze surrounds for the door handles, around the lights and grille, yellow S badging on the grille and bootlid, the Mini E logo on the front and rear aprons and the same 17-inch alloy wheels as the standard Cooper S E.

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Drop the roof

As with the standard convertible, the Cooper S E’s roof can be lowered and raised at speeds up to 30 km/h, revealing an interior furnished with the otherwise optional lounge seats that are heated and electric at the front, ambient lighting, head-up display, Nappa leather steering wheel, bespoke piano key black detailing and the same Electric Yellow details and starter switch as the regular Cooper S E.

Drop the top without emissions

Up front, the electric motor delivers an unchanged 135kW/270Nm through the front wheels via a single speed transmission.

Although top speed wasn’t disclosed, Mini did confirm a 0-100 km/h sprint of 7.3 second and a claimed range of 201 km between trips to the plug.

As evident by the door sills, only 999 Cooper S E Convertibles will be built with sales, for now, limited to Europe. Pricing wasn’t disclosed either.

No-no for now

BMW South Africa has meanwhile confirmed that the Cooper S E Convertible won’t be coming to market anytime soon, leaving conventional hard-top Cooper S E has the sole all-electric model available priced from R742 102 and with a claimed range of 217 km.

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