All-electric three-door drop-top is just a prototype, but bet on it going into production

As if being the first Canadian journalist to get a crack at driving Mini’s first-ever all-electric convertible wasn’t a bit of a coup, I piloted the roadster on the fantastic Area 27 track on a beautiful Sunday morning in B.C.’s Okanagan Valley.

Which was just as well since the one-off vehicle, on a summer tour across North America attending various Mini owner celebrations, wasn’t sporting licence plates. Joining me for the hot laps was Julian Kisch, a Mini specialist from Munich who was playing chaperone to the prototype drop-top during the Mini United 2022 celebration taking place in Kelowna and at the racetrack 80 kilometres to the south in Oliver, B.C.

Before we get into the particulars of the Mini Copper SE Convertible — and if its BMW masters will bring it into full-scale production — some observations gained by zipping around the undulating, near-five-kilometre-long track designed by Canadian racing legend Jacques Villeneuve.

In reviewing the SE Convertible’s all-electric coupe cousin last year, I made several references to its ‘go-kart-like’ handling and driving characteristics. Well, that runs in the family as the convertible was pinned to the asphalt as I jumped on the brakes, threw it into corners, hit the apex and accelerated out of what must be said are some of the most enjoyable track transitions in North America. Even on a couple of off-camber entries, the Mini prototype never wavered with any sense of understeer, nor oversteer when getting on the go pedal early out of corners.

Julian said zero to 100 km/h acceleration was measured at 7.7 seconds, but it felt faster, probably as the top was down and the only real audible sensation was the wind whipping by us as we tore along the straightaways. It reminded me of an observation I made when off-roading the all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning. On that occasion, it was the first time going over rough terrain that I heard birds chirping, the sound of rubber seeking purchase on rocks and the crunch of dirt under the wheels.

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Likewise, piloting an all-electric convertible on a racetrack is an almost eerie experience, with none of the violent engine bangs and clamour associated with driving a vehicle in anger. Instead, the drive was almost Zen-like, which of course has its own peril as things happening quickly on a closed circuit if you’re not careful and paying utmost attention. Fortunately, the track was dotted with orange cones signalling braking and apex markers, along with gates for ideal entry on some of the rolling blind corners. That quiet cabin also allowed Julian and I to carry on a conversation while at top speed without really raising our voices. A first for me on a racetrack.

Pulling into the pit lane following what was one of my most enjoyable track sessions I’ve had in some time, I wished the convertible had plates as the drive north back to Kelowna along the shoreline of Okanagan Lake would have been spectacular in the all-electric roadster. Instead, it was destined for a railway car for the slow trip east to Halifax, then into a shipping container for an even slower trip back to Germany, where engineers will rip it apart to find out how the prototype has held up to real-world driving conditions.

I was surprised to learn that to build the prototype, instead of merely cutting the top off the all-electric SE coupe and fitting a folding power roof, engineers adapted the gas-powered Mini Cooper S Convertible instead. Julian explained that due to body structure issues and body stiffness, it was preferable to simply swap out the internal combustion engine from the Cooper S Convertible and install batteries and a motor in the front end — the exact same drive components as the Cooper SE — than convert the all-electric coupe into a convertible. All of which makes the handling and performance of the SE Convertible all the more remarkable.

As this is a prototype, and despite my best efforts to cajole some details from the saintly patient Julian, we don’t know things like the weight of the vehicle or its overall efficiency. What we do know, and surmise from the fact it uses the same powertrain as the SE, is that a 32-kWh lithium-ion battery powers a 135 kW (184 horsepower) electric motor and has a range in the neighbourhood of 177 kilometres. As I noted in my Cooper SE review, that range is a tough one for Canadian drivers to get their head around, but according to Julian, German Mini consumers are embracing the switch to electricity. In that country, the largest market for the Mini Cooper SE, almost every third Mini is already electrified (which includes plug-in models).

So, the big question: will this prototype become a production model? Julian would only smile when asked, but judging from the reception the Mini Cooper SE Convertible received from the hundreds in attendance at Mini United — think lots of smiles — the Mini marketplace is willing, able and ready to embrace an all-electric, three-door roadster.

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