The classic Mini was the go-to mode of affordable personal transportation for British drivers for several decades before the brand was bought by the BMW Group in 2000. It came to life during a fuel crisis and it was simple, cheap to buy, and cheap to run, thanks in no small part to the clever design penned by Alec Issigonis.
With this being said, there are now specialist companies out there that are doing their best to transform the classic British two-door into something much more refined, luxurious, and well put together, for quite a lot of money – much more than the original car ever dreamed of getting.
And while Singer is well-known for its Porsche 911-inspired creations, David Brown Automotive made a name for itself in the Mini restomod business, offering built-to-order machines with leather-filled interiors and modern amenities like electric windows, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and engines that are a bit more powerful than when they left the factory floor some two or three decades ago.
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Now, the Silverstone-based company has announced that it has a new vehicle in its portfolio, still based on the classic Mini, but remastered with an all-electric powertrain.
Dubbed the Mini eMastered, the meticulously put-together city car is set in motion by a 72-kilowatt (96-horsepower) Zonic 70 electric motor that draws energy from a “right-sized” 18.8-kilowatt-hour battery pack, allowing the pint-sized EV to travel for up to 110 miles on a full charge and sprint from 0 to 62 miles per hour in 8.5 seconds, while the top speed is limited to 92 mph.
David Brown Automotive says that its first-ever electric model weighs just 1,411 pounds (650 kilograms), the same as the original gas-powered car, and that the aforementioned battery pack can be charged at up to 6.6 kW from an AC source in just three hours.
Priced from roughly $154,500 (£125,000) in the UK, excluding VAT, local tax, and all the other fees and duties you can imagine, which makes the Mini eMastered quite an expensive conversion. With this being said, it’s not every day you see a handcrafted, bespoke classic Mini made to the exact specifications of the owner.