Although it may be a general belief, convertibles are not for summer. Not at least with the scorching sun that we have in Spain, and especially during a heat wave like the one we are experiencing. However, there are climates that are somewhat milder, less extreme, where the MINI Cooper SE Convertible It can be the ideal “toy” for the summer. This is what MINI must have thought of when presenting this fully electric convertible, unique in the world.
Until now, we only knew the electric MINI Cooper in a 3-door body. For the first time, the British firm has presented a convertible variant: the MINI Cooper SE Convertible, a car that is literally unique in the world, as it is a one-off exclusively made for this occasion. It may attract more than one potential buyer, but MINI doesn’t plan to make it.
Apart from MINI, it is also one of the few electric convertibles in the world. Only a few make up this group: the first Tesla Roadster, the MG Cyberster, the Bentley EXP 12 Speed 6e Concept or the brand new Wuling Mini EV Cabrio. Except for the latter, none of them is a production car.
It is an exercise of the brand facing its totally electric future, a sample of what its possibilities will be in the future. There is currently a petrol MINI Convertible, so the possibility of an electric MINI Convertible is quite possible. Let us remember that MINI will launch its last model with a combustion engine in 2025 and, at the beginning of the following decade, it will become an exclusively electric brand.
This unique example is in fact based on the MINI Cooper S Convertible. The MINI Cooper SE Convertible shares its same dimensions: 3,863mm long, 1,727mm wide and 1,415mm high, with a 2,495mm wheelbase. The cargo volume of the trunk also remains unchanged, with a meager 160 liters.
And logically, the engine is shared with the three-door MINI Cooper SE. The MINI Cooper SE Convertible has a 184 hp electric motor of power, which allows it to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.7 seconds. The battery is also the same; in the case of the production Cooper SE, it approves a range of 230 kilometers in the WLTP cycle. All this is combined in this case with the attraction of being able to drive with your hair in the wind, thanks to a electrically open textile hood that can be opened and closed in just 18 seconds. The hood can be activated driving up to 30 km/h and allows three settings: open, closed or as a sunroof.
This unique model in the world will be shown to the public for the first time at the “MINI Takes the States” community event in the United States. A sunny enclave in South Carolina and ideal for this type of vehicle, where the MINI community will meet and will be able to see first-hand this one-off that, most likely, will end up becoming a production model in the future.
