MINI Cooper SE Convertible Debuts

Domenick

Domenick

Well-Known Member
2023 MINI Cooper SE Convertible Debuts With 125 Miles Of Range
This generation of the SE isn't ending in a whisper, but with a bang. Well, a bang and maybe a sad trombone's wah-wah note of disappointment. MINI's announced it is making 999 of these. For Europe.
I haven't given up total hope that the US will get some a batch, but it's not looking good.
On the other hand, the next-gen (with better range) may get a convertible option. Eventually.
But maybe I don't understand the market. Would you like to see the Mini Cooper SE Convertible here?
2023-mini-cooper-se-convertible.webp
 
Domenick said:
2023 MINI Cooper SE Convertible Debuts With 125 Miles Of Range
This generation of the SE isn't ending in a whisper, but with a bang. Well, a bang and maybe a sad trombone's wah-wah note of disappointment. MINI's announced it is making 999 of these. For Europe.
I haven't given up total hope that the US will get some a batch, but it's not looking good.
On the other hand, the next-gen (with better range) may get a convertible option. Eventually.
But maybe I don't understand the market. Would you like to see the Mini Cooper SE Convertible here?
View attachment 19771
Click to expand...

I would trade my SE for one today if I could. That’s about the only thing I’d give it up for though.


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
 
Domenick said:
2023 MINI Cooper SE Convertible Debuts With 125 Miles Of Range
This generation of the SE isn't ending in a whisper, but with a bang. Well, a bang and maybe a sad trombone's wah-wah note of disappointment. MINI's announced it is making 999 of these. For Europe.
I haven't given up total hope that the US will get some a batch, but it's not looking good.
On the other hand, the next-gen (with better range) may get a convertible option. Eventually.
But maybe I don't understand the market. Would you like to see the Mini Cooper SE Convertible here?
View attachment 19771
Click to expand...
MINI sells a lot of convertibles. The company always knew an electric convertible would be a big seller in North America. Being the only electric convertible on the market, it would attract electric-car customers who would never otherwise consider a MINI. That says to me MINI didn't believe they could build a MINI Electric convertible that would pass US crash and rollover tests.
 
Rollover safety is definitely a challenge. But I doubt they are unable to make one, just not with the current chassis. This is all the more reason for me to hold out hope for the next gen. With a new platform that can account for the weight of a battery, Mini should have no problem meeting US safety standards.


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
 
Well if the ICE car passes the cab should since they're the same. Maybe the cost to certify didn't make the business case worth it.
 
GetOffYourGas said:
just not with the current chassis
Click to expand...
I should have specified that--the company used the current chassis for the MINI Electric to make the costs feasible, so they certainly wouldn't create a new chassis for just the MINI Electric convertible.

Brawndo said:
Well if the ICE car passes the cab should since they're the same. Maybe the cost to certify didn't make the business case worth it.
Click to expand...
The ICE cab doesn't have a 400-lb battery pack to support in a rollover accident. They must have rolled a few before deciding to make 999 for the European market. I wonder how that went?
 
insightman said:
MINI sells a lot of convertibles. The company always knew an electric convertible would be a big seller in North America. Being the only electric convertible on the market, it would attract electric-car customers who would never otherwise consider a MINI. That says to me MINI didn't believe they could build a MINI Electric convertible that would pass US crash and rollover tests.
Click to expand...
This is a good point. There are a few electric convertibles in the works, but the two I can think of off the top of my head will cost the same as maybe 5 Mini Convertibles. There's got to be a sound reason why it doesn't seem like they're selling them here. Your suggestion makes as much sense as anything else that springs to mind.
 
I was intrigued as to how they achieve better range in the convertible (presumably worse aerodynamics), but the 125 mile a rating is on the WLTP cycle…so that could explain it.

Looks great, too.
 
Alf_W said:
I was intrigued as to how they achieve better range in the convertible (presumably worse aerodynamics), but the 125 mile a rating is on the WLTP cycle…so that could explain it.
Click to expand...
There should be less weight by getting rid of the roof. Not sure about change in aerodynamics, though. It is about 9% better than the SE Hardtop's 114-mile (EPA) range, but maybe it is just the difference of WLTP.

I wonder if this MINI could inadvertently become the Miata of EVs?
 
I thought the SE was rated as 150 miles in the UK, so this would be worse, not better.

Also I think it's odd that the image is of a LHD car if the market is the UK...

Edit: oh, it's for Europe, not just the UK.
 
The price, according to one website is £52k, if you can manage to get hold of one of the 150 only coming to the UK. That's a £17k premium on the top-spec hardtop.
 
Puppethead said:
I wonder if this MINI could inadvertently become the Miata of EVs?
Click to expand...

My "other" car is a Miata.

There are rumors that Mazda is working on an electrified Miata. I am torn though----the manual transmission is an essential part of the Miata experience. I don't think an EV would give a comparable driving experience. It's just.....different.
 
From Green Car Reports:

"With the same 181-hp electric motor at the front wheels as the Cooper SE, it can accelerate to 62 mph in 8.2 seconds. That’s about a second and a half slower than the Mini Cooper SE, and it indicates that the Cooper SE Convertible may be several hundred pounds heavier than the hardtop, perhaps bringing the curb weight nearer to 3,500 pounds.

The 2023 Mini Cooper SE is rated at 114 miles of EPA range for the U.S., from a 32.6-kwh battery pack. Based on the European WLTP cycle, which tends to be more optimistic than the U.S. EPA cycle, Mini says that the Cooper Convertible will cover 125 miles on a charge—a 13% reduction versus the 144 miles the SE hardtop gets on that same cycle—so that might amount to only around 100 miles of U.S. EPA range, if Mini were to consider bringing any of these Stateside."
 
Jkoya said:
the Cooper SE Convertible may be several hundred pounds heavier than the hardtop
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Perhaps the extra weight indicates a heavily reinforced windshield frame (reinforced even beyond the SE's extra-reinforced A-pillars) and a heavily reinforced set of door sills (reinforced even beyond the SE's extra-reinforced door sills).

Perhaps there is also a set of heavy roll bars hidden in the rear headrests. I was surprised the SE convertible isn't equipped with visible roll bars as in earlier MINI convertibles.
 
In addition to reinforcements for rollover protection, there could be reinforcements to stiffen the chassis to compensate for the elimination of the roof as a structural element. This is relatively common in convertible conversions.
 
Alf_W said:
In addition to reinforcements for rollover protection, there could be reinforcements to stiffen the chassis to compensate for the elimination of the roof as a structural element. This is relatively common in convertible conversions.
Click to expand...
Yes but it normally adds less than a hundred pounds.
 
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