Any outlook for large batteries (more range) for future Mini's?

Puppethead said:
When you say original, original modern MINI or the Morris Mini-Minor? I always thought the current MINI looks huge compared to the original.
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I was referring to the first generation MINI (R50/52/53). Prior Minis were obviously even smaller.

IOW, the MINI has grown significantly larger under BMW's 21 y stewardship, with this SE prototype apparently being an attempt to reverse this trend.
 
CuriousGeorge said:
I was referring to the first generation MINI (R50/52/53). Prior Minis were obviously even smaller.

IOW, the MINI has grown significantly larger under BMW's 21 y stewardship, with this SE prototype apparently being an attempt to reverse this trend.
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My SE is the largest car I've owned since my 1978 Mazda RX-7. I'm OK with the SE's current size or a newer, smaller size, but I won't switch unless MINI adds lightness and doesn't subtract power.
 
insightman said:
My SE is the largest car I've owned since my 1978 Mazda RX-7. I'm OK with the SE's current size or a newer, smaller size, but I won't switch unless MINI adds lightness and doesn't subtract power.
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Ideally, power:weight remains unchanged. But, we each have our needs/wants/desires (I'd like 150 mi range under worst-case conditions, so I could visit my kid at college w/o having to recharge).
 
CuriousGeorge said:
Ideally, power:weight remains unchanged.
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If the new one has the same amount of battery, shouldn't it be lighter than the SE with the elimination of all that front end frame? I don't know how MINI is shrinking down the electric motor and heat pump for the smaller space, though. If they drop the heat pump that would be a dealbreaker for me, since I live in the far north.
 
CuriousGeorge said:
On the inside, or on the outside?

FWIW, current Mini 3 doors are ~6" longer than the original, but with only a ~1" longer wheelbase. Most of the growth, then, has been forward of the windshield, and in particular forward of the front wheels, presumably to meet increasing safety standards. In this regard, the prototype is a reversion to original Mini-ness, i.e., a very short hood w/ minimal front (and rear) overhangs. If they can do that while maintaining the space available for the driver (and occasional passenger), I'm all in.
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I would want interior to stay the same - and I'd be okay with the exterior shrinking only if crash protection ratings would remain adequate.
 
BMW's new i4 M50 is interesting, maybe foreshadowing the future for MINI? In particular, motor and battery improvement.

"The [drive] units are compact and have a 50 percent higher power density than the drive unit in the i3. Being electrically excited, they eschew the use of rare earth materials in their construction. BMW says the motors have an efficiency of 93 percent."

"The 4.3-inch (110-mm)-tall prismatic cells supplied by CATL and Samsung SDI have a 40 percent higher volumetric energy density than the cells in the outgoing BMW i3."
 
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