Mini is returning to its roots with a simple, retro-futuristic cabin arrangement for its 2024 Cooper EV – inspired by Alec Issigonis design for the original 1959 car.
Revealed ahead of the car’s official debut in the coming months, the new Mini’s cockpit is described as “more Mini than ever before” – and the firm has revealed the electric supermini will receive an exhaust note and eight different drive modes.
Using Mini’s new ninth-generation operating system, which the firm says has been optimised for touch and voice controls, the new model will feature a new ‘Mini Experience’ feature with various drive modes to adjust the car’s system’s colour theme, driving characteristics and interior lighting.
Mini claims one mode, Balance, is based on noises from a forest at either day or night. It features a rippling stream, crickets and rustling wind.
Listen to the new Balance mode below…
The new Mini Cooper EV electric supermini will feature eight different ‘Mini Experience’ modes, including Balance – a mode based on noises from a forestWould you use this ‘Experience’ mode? pic.twitter.com/RhoSbp9eHY
— Autocar (@autocar) July 27, 2023
Another mode, dubbed ‘Go-kart’ mode, drapes the Mini’s interior with black and red, visually swapping the car’s head-up display with a speedometer, optimising the car’s throttle response for more dynamic driving.
Meanwhile, ‘Timeless’ mode mimics the exhaust note of internal combustion Minis, samples together into what Mini describes as a “futuristic interpretation of the Mini”, and an “acoustic journey through time”.
Another, ‘Vivid’, sees the car’s ambient lighting colour auto-sync with the album art of any song being played and project those colours across the cabin. Other modes include ‘Trail’, ‘Core’ and ‘Green,’ which transforms the interior lighting to green, while optimising the accelerator pedal for more economical driving.
Match your vibe to your drive with the new #MINIExperienceModes – coming soon in #TheNewMINIFamily.#MINI #BIGLOVE #MINIDigitalExperience pic.twitter.com/N32ESd9JFI
— MINI (@MINI) August 3, 2023
The centrepiece of the redesigned interior is an expansive central touchscreen, modelled on the trademark central speedometer that has featured in every Mini hatch since the original Austin Seven.