Next-gen Mini Cooper SE caught undisguised

The car looks terrific. The wheels look awful. I think this blue with white trim color combo is crying out for a set of white wheels.


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It looks better than I expected…

They’re clearly going for aero as every generation has had the originally vertical round headlamps be ever more tilted back and oval with a trick to the shape to make them seem round from straight ahead.
The windshield is raked back for the same reason, but very un-mini like.
I can accept these things in the name if efficiency.
What I don’t like is the rear. I mean, I don’t mind it, but it dies not say Mini to me at all.

it looks much cheaper to produce having lost the clamshell hood, arch trims, bezels and chrome handles etc. some of which also takes away from the classic Mini heritage…

It looks much less premium, but if they charge less then that’s fine, although I may get used to the cleaner design. I certainly love the clean interior design of our Tesla with every other car interior seeming fussy and old fashioned by comparison even though I wasn’t so keen at first…

If the design helps the range *and* reduce the price then I’m ok with it. It needs to start under $30k, not really $25k and with the bigger battery option etc needs ti be no more than $32-35k. Those are base price figures.
 
insightman said:
To sell for under $30K in the US, this MINI would have to cost about $23.5K before adding the 27.5% import tariff for Chinese vehicles. In Britain, the Ora Funky Cat costs £31,995, or $39,693 USD.
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Any price from the UK includes all taxes. None of the guesswork that there is the US about how much it really costs. Sales tax is 20% I believe there is also an import tax of some %. So the US price, with tariff, probably won't be much over $40k
 
When we bought our 2022 SE it was &29,900.
At the time the UK price was £31,000 which was $37,000.
The UK price includes sales tax but not all US states charge it.
If the ORA is £32,000 in the UK then that suggests it would be $30,500 here, import tax for Chinese vehicles not withstanding:

But before adding the US import tax, how much import tax does the UK charge?
I know when I imported a car from the USA to the UK it was roughly 8% (a pickup truck would have been 20%).
 
All the speculation is only speculation. Seeing one being photographed with US plates brings hope BMW has found a way to get it here.

After sleeping on it and coming back, I think it looks great. Low and stubby and instantly recognizable as a Mini, but modernized.

Now just time it right with the eJCW releasing right as my payments are done on my SE.
 
Not a fan of the appearance (BMW seems to have infected MINI with the giant grill disease) although I could definitely ignore the looks for an AWD JCW model
 
The white reference dots all around tell me that there will be CGI work done in post for whatever video this is, whether it’s an ad, or a reveal for a September auto show. I think I will wait until I see an actual production version with different adornments and exterior treatments that the various trim levels are likely to have.
 
I am rather curious why they made the front and rear bumpers asymmetrical: they removed the vertical air slits from the front bumper, but added vertical “reflector” slits to the rear bumper.
 
SameGuy said:
I will reserve comment on the new Cooper, but OK, that Cayenne rig is pretty effing cool.
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Pretty sure Jeff Zwart who races a Porsche up Pikes Peak (and won a few times i think), and contributes to the PCA magazine Panorama on a regular basis set up that rig. There was an article some years back on the photo rigs he uses.

As for the love/hate. For the engineers, will the longer overhang, and slant of the rear hatch glass deflect dirt? If yes, and it has a much longer range, I am in baby!!

A little 911 history. When they brought over the 924 and 928 purists said they weren't real Porsches. When they went to water cooling on the 911 in 1999 purists said they weren't real Porsches. They bashed the scrambled egg headlights, and nose (skin up to B pillar) it shared with the Boxster (with help from Toyota to keep the "pure" company alive - similar to what BMW did with Mini). So, in 2005 they made an update. The rounded the headlights, and added some curve to the fenders so it looks more like an air cooled 911.

Fast forward, and many of those purists are fighting for a place in line to get the latest. Why? Maybe because they want the car that drives the best?

I will reserve comment on the nitpicks until I drive one. In the meantime I will enjoy my low range go cart commuter that suits my needs. For the long trip with the Mini club this summer we will "borrow" our kid's low HP base 2012 with three pedals (and SiriusXM).
 
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I’ve installed the roof systems for a couple Cayennes locally that are used in filming. It’s an expensive but very stable platform for filming and has become the “standard”

the reason LA, London, NYC are used for shoots is for that “urban” lifestyle feel. Same with picks being used off road or in “hardman” image.
 
Compared to the earlier dubious spy shots of the Ora Good Cat/MINI white mashup, this looks a lot better. But it seems much smaller cargo-wise than the F56. My SE is already barely big enough for my two dogs, who need length behind the front seats more than cubic space. So I guess I have to keep my hopes on the Aceman.
 
Tommm said:
As for the love/hate. For the engineers, will the longer overhang, and slant of the rear hatch glass deflect dirt?
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Since they seem to be focusing more on reducing aerodynamic drag , I'm guessing the dirty rear will actually be a bit worse! (But by a very small amount)

You really just need to get yourself a massive rear wing and remove the stock spoiler. Placed slightly behind the rear window, the negative pressure below the wing would suck air down the window and blow the dust off!

For example, on this Skoda rally car you can see the airflow over the rear window (green). Hotter color temperature = faster airflow

Fabia-velocity-profile.webp


You would have significantly more drag though and reduced range...
 
A quick Photoshop slap-together based on the recent news that the Oxford and Zhangjiagang SEs are about the same length.

upload_2023-4-4_15-46-18.webp


Edit: @JonR pointed out that the dimensions that MINI has released indicate the two cars are approximately the same height, which this quick slap-together doesn't show. Perhaps the height at which each photo was taken makes the J01 look taller.
 
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That’s really exciting that it was spotted in LA, gives me a glimmer of hope that they’ll sell it in the US! Though MotoringFile seems confident that it won’t be until at least 2027, which makes sense.
 
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JonR said:
I don't think that photoshop is right.

https://www.motoringfile.com/2023/04/03/2025-electric-mini-cooper-se/

The 2025 SE is just barely taller than the current F56 S and according another source, it is essentially the same height as the SE.

https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks...1/specs/electric-hardtop-cooper-se-fwd-413114
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This official MINI photo I found on the 'net for comparison looked right to me. I sized it to the same length as the Motor1 photo, but I'm not good enough at Photoshop to change the height at which either photo was taken. Someone will do a better job, I'm sure.

upload_2023-4-4_16-42-5.webp
 
Puppethead said:
Compared to the earlier dubious spy shots of the Ora Good Cat/MINI white mashup, this looks a lot better. But it seems much smaller cargo-wise than the F56.
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Sorry, did I miss something? Shouldn't a skateboard platform increase interior volume?

As for the color, I agree, really need to see the new J01 in multiple color schemes to really judge.
 
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