A limited-run, convertible Mini Cooper SE will arrive later this year, with a hefty price tag of £52,500.
The BMW Group-owned firm claims it is the first convertible to be sold with electric power, with only the Fiat 500 Cabrio EV its closest competitor, but that has only a landaulet rear.
It follows a one-off Mini electric convertible prototype built last year to, as the firm previously said, “test the waters of emission-free, open-top driving with Mini”. Tested by Autocar, the “impressive” prototype “looked and felt like a proper production car”.
Now, just eight months on, this production version is the result, albeit launched as a special edition and limited to just 150 models in the UK; 999 in Europe. Mini has not revealed if the model, arriving in April, will have a global presence.
Like the prototype, the convertible gets the same 181bhp single-motor set-up as the standard Mini Electric, pushing it to 62mph in 7.3sec. It also shares the same 32.6kWh battery, albeit with 20 fewer miles of range at 125.
The limited-run model is nearly identical to its combustion sibling, with the same dimensions (at 3863mm in length, and 1727mm wide), boot space (160 litres), and electrically powered, Union Jack-embossed cloth soft top.