It will also employ the Cooper’s battery and power offerings (181bhp S, 215bhp SE), but given the car is bigger and heavier than its supermini sibling, the range of the entry-level 40kWh E is expected to be down on the Cooper’s 240 miles. Only two-wheel drive will be offered.
A hot JCW version, using the same 54kWh battery as the SE, will arrive in 2026 – around a year after the standard car, with a focus on power over range.
As with the Cooper, Mini has developed a soundtrack to accompany acceleration, but Wurst said it won’t be like the operatic tune BMW offers in models such as the BMW iX.
Elsewhere inside, the Aceman gets a near-identical interior to the Cooper, albeit with even ‘funkier’ styling on the cards. A knitted dashboard has been mooted.
Its interior will largely shun chrome and leather and adopt a clean, one-screen central display for control of most key functions.
In parting with tradition, its interior is dominated by a large central screen and a set of five toggle switches. Aside from these, buttons are almost entirely absent from the sustainable textile or leatherette-clad dashboard fascia.
The car is predicted to have the broadest target market of any Mini because, Wurst said, “you can buy it for your first car, or have it as your only car”. Wurst expects it to sell well in Asia. “I think this car has the biggest potential. It is the one with the hottest ‘newness’ aspect.”
