With my SE still staged at the port in England, I've got a bit of time to plan some cosmetic upgrades. I'm going to mention some assumptions I have about my future car; if anyone with an actual SE in his hands has better info, please correct me! What I'll be working toward is an electric MINI that does not obviously give away the fact that it is electric. I've always like "sleeper" cars, and the bright yellow, large badges on the SE rub me the wrong way. Fortunately, the car itself doesn't look like most of the early, funky, weird EVs, but someone in the marketing department still thinks that a BEV must scream "electric car" vice just "car." Me no likey. I'm fairly well convinced that with my grey body, black roof, and black mirror caps, I will not have the yellow, large blade insert in the front of the grille. But there will be the round yellow emblem with the plug logo still there. I'd like to have a close-up photo of that and an opinion of what it would take to remove and replace it. Is it something that might just pop out? I know there is a similar, giant yellow emblem on the port aft of the hatch. I assume that is held on with double-sided tape and would come off with a heat gun. Buh bye. How about the port and starboard side scuttles? I don't have a good photo of those, but I see lots of aftermarket scuttle replacements, so I assume those would be an easy switch. The 17" Tentacle Spoke wheels I ordered will, I believe, come with yellow-"enhanced" center caps, but, again, I see plenty of cap replacements online. Finally, if I really wanted to go for it, I might replace the entire grille. However, that's a big step and might harm the aero and thus range, so I'll probably wait on that until I get the other stuff done. Any photos and opinions are welcome and appreciated!
Check out this thread on another forum: https://www.minif56.com/threads/change-grill-on-full-ev-mini-f56.87896/ The third picture in that thread shows a close-up of the emblem on the front grille. You may be able to pop out the badge, but it looks like you'd be left with a circular notch. That thread shows the end results of the owner swapping in a "regular" grille, and includes part numbers on the second page. That's my expectation. I expect you're right on both counts.
Boy, that was helpful. That guy's front end looks so much better than the SE's smooth grille with yellow badge, IMO. $300 in parts, and the swap looks like something I could do. Very tempting to just get them on the way... Thanks for the help!
Go to 1:45 in this video to watch the hatch emblem being attached at the factory. Will you take a black Sharpie to the yellow S on on the hatch?
Great video. There are some close-ups of the side scuttles at about 4:00, too. I didn't know it was yellow. Since the new grille S is red, maybe some nail polish... Thanks!
Receipts on the dash -- perfect. Heck, for old time's sake pull into a gas station once in awhile and go through the motions of filling 'er up. I'd be funny if a guy at the next pump asked if you even thought of getting an electric MINI. Stealth indeed.
Did you notice at the end of the video is a Moonwalk Grey SE with a black top, black mirror caps, and a Vigorous Grey grille blade driving through their labyrinth? Here is a side photo of the E on the grille. I believe the blade with E is one piece. Also here's a view of the S on the hatch. Did you know there is an Energetic Yellow S on both aluminum door sills?
Son of a motherless goat. I did not notice that, and it contradicts my intel that black roof and mirror caps = grey blade. So. much. yellow. branding. Well, if mine shows up with the blade, I'm swapping the grille. Maybe I concede yellow "S"s everywhere and try to paint the new grille's red S to yellow, rather than trying to paint all the other things red. Anyone know a Pantone match for the energetic yellow? Here's my parts list from outmotoring.com
Wait! The black-roof/black-caps MINI Cooper SE at the end of the video DOES have a grey blade (of course, with the yellow E). Your more visually altering transformation will be less expensive than my scoopless hood. I believe a primer-painted base MINI Cooper hood retails for $640. Then it has to be painted.
There are decals available to change the E logo colors: https://www.artisticreflection.com/mini-cooper-3rd-gen-countryman-f60-se-hybrid-decal-emblem-inserts.htm I'm with you on the Stealth SE, not a fan of the yellow either.
This is second hand info, so I'm not 100% sure on this, but I believe it to be reliable. The “Energetic Yellow” is: Pantone 612C CMYK: 0/0/100/23
I've seen those, but they are listed for the Countryman S E. I guess, for $6, they'd be worth a shot. Thanks!
