Author: Koumikoumi

To ordinary people, a convertible is like M12 grade Wagyu beef or sturgeon caviar on a family dining table. It’s not that they can’t afford it, but they can grit their teeth and enjoy the taste for a moment, even if the Wagyu beef costs nearly 1,000 yuan per kilogram or the caviar costs 15 yuan per gram.

However, these ingredients are generally not cost-effective for ordinary people. If you give the budget for buying Wagyu beef to your wife, you can afford to eat fish and meat every meal.

The same goes for convertibles. The cheapest convertibles currently on sale should be the MINI 1.5T COPPER CABRIO or the BMW 2 Series 220i Convertible. The prices of these two cars are just stuck in a very ambiguous zone. For some consumers, it’s still affordable, but the starting price of nearly 300,000 yuan is not cheap. So are there cheaper options? Yes, there are.

Wuling once said (actually not): Whatever you want, I’ll make it for you. And now, the MINI EV Convertible has really come.

In the recent new car announcement, we discovered the presence of the MINI EV Convertible, which suggests that it may be the cheapest mass-produced convertible in China.

The new car’s exterior details are different from the current model, with new design elements in the headlights, a one-piece decorative panel on the lower front bumper that merges with the license plate frame. The rear design is relatively simple, with a “X” shaped taillight cavity that is more delicate than before. However, the MINI EV Convertible still comes with 12-inch wheels and 145/70 R12 tires, and this has not changed.

The declared image shows the convertible state of the vehicle, and the details of the picture indicate that the car has a soft top convertible mechanism, which is slightly lighter in weight than a hard top convertible. In addition, because the convertible mechanism occupies the space of the rear of the car, the MINI EV convertible version is a 2-seater model. The length, width and height of the new car are 3059/1521/1614 mm, which is slightly longer than the current model, and the wheelbase has also increased slightly to 2010 mm.

Although small, the convertible version of MINI EV has everything that a convertible car needs. It has thicker A-pillars, roll-over protection behind the front seat headrests, and frameless doors. This car can also attract a lot of attention when driving on the road.

In addition, the MINI EV convertible version has a new drive motor with a maximum power of 30 kW and a top speed of 100 km/h. The power battery capacity has also increased, with a lithium iron phosphate battery from PengHui Power Co., Ltd with a capacity of 26.45 kWh, which should provide a range of 250 km or more.

As for other information about the MINI EV convertible version, it has not yet been released, including the most important price. However, the MINI EV convertible version was exported to Europe in the form of a CDK before, with a price of 20,000 euros, while the regular version of MINI EV sells for 9,999 euros in Europe, and the price of the convertible version is twice that of the regular version. Therefore, the price of the MINI EV convertible version should not be too high, possibly starting at around 60,000 to 70,000 yuan. If buying a BMW 2 Series convertible requires some effort to make a decision, then buying a MINI EV convertible version only requires a slight frown.

In addition to the convertible version, MINI EV also has a new model declared. Apart from not being a convertible, the new model has design details and size parameters similar to the convertible version, such as a wheelbase that has also been increased to 2010 mm. But unlike the current model, this new model adds a roof rack and chrome accents below the front bumper.

The new car model has 7 colors to choose from for the roof luggage rack, front and rear bumper decorative strips, and hub caps.

In terms of power and battery, the new car model has different configurations. The low-end model is equipped with a 24 kW power motor and a 17.25 kWh battery capacity. The high-end model is equipped with a 30 kW power motor, a peak torque of 110 N・m, and a 26.7 kWh battery capacity. According to the information in the 11th batch of the 2021 Catalogue of Recommended Models for the Promotion and Application of New Energy Vehicles, the high-end model has a range of 300 km in the CLTC test cycle.

Now that the declaration diagram for the new car is ready, is it still far from us to launch? As an affordable pure electric small car, the MINI EV has already achieved good results. This new car model serves to expand the MINI EV family and broaden the potential consumer base. Perhaps in the future, the convertible version of MINI EV will be seen on Xiaohongshu or Douyin instead of the regular version.

This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.