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The 500 cars bound for North America will offer BWM the opportunity to evaluate ownership potential for vehicles supplied with an electric power supply. BWM aims to begin series production in the medium term of all-electric vehicles as part of the company's Number ONE strategy.

The cars will be delivered to customers on a one-year lease with an extension option. Monthly lease installments will cover any required technical service including all necessary maintenance and the replacement of wearing parts. At the end of the lease, all of the automobiles belonging to the project will be returned to the BWM's engineering fleet where they will be subjected to comparative tests.

Mini E - The technical bit
The Mini E's electric drive train produces a peak torque of 220 Nm, and power is delivered to the front wheels via a single-stage helical gearbox. This unique engine and transmission arrangement powers the Mini E seamlessly to 62 mph in 8.5 seconds and on to an electronically-limited top speed of 95 mph.

Based on the current Mini Hatch, the car will initially be available as a two-seater. The space normally inhabited by rear passengers is reserved for a lithium-ion battery.

The lithium-ion storage unit will have a maximum capacity of 35 kilowatt hours (kWh) and transmit energy to the electric motor as direct current at a nominal 380 volts. The rechargeable battery is made up of 5,088 cells grouped into 48 modules. These modules are packaged into three battery elements that are compactly arranged inside the Mini E.

The energy storage unit's basic components are based on technologies proven in power supply units for mobile phones and portable computers. The Mini E's lithium-ion battery can be plugged into all standard power outlets. Its charge time is strongly dependent on the voltage and amperage of the electricity flowing through the grid. In the USA, users can recharge a battery that has been completely drained within a very short period of time using a wallbox that will be supplied as standard with every Mini E.

The wallbox will be installed in the customer's garage, enable higher amperage, and thus provide for extremely short charging times. Wallboxes fully recharge batteries in just two-and-a-half hours. Only lockable garages or similar buildings will qualify as power stations for the Mini E.

Driven by electricity
A full recharge draws a maximum of 28 kilowatt hours of electricity from the grid. Based on the car's range (about 150 miles), a kilowatt hour translates into 5.4 miles. Besides the benefit of zero-emissions driving, the Mini E thus offers significant economic advantages over a vehicle powered by a conventional internal combustion engine.

The heavy-duty battery delivers its power to an electric motor, which is mounted transversely under the Mini E's bonnet. This power unit is able to unleash its full thrust from a dead standstill and is complemented by its dynamic deceleration potential, which is directly coupled to the accelerator pedal.

As soon as the driver releases the accelerator pedal, the electric motor acts as a generator. This results in braking force, and the power recovered from the kinetic energy is fed back to the battery. This interaction ensures a comfortable and smooth driving experience. In city traffic, some 75 percent of all deceleration can be done without the brakes. Making substantial use of this energy regeneration feature extends the car's range by up to 20 percent.

The Mini E's brake system comes with a newly developed electric pump. Its Electrical Power Assisted Steering (EPS) is the same as the one used in mass-produced Minis.

The Mini E's 1,465 kilogrammes is evenly distributed across the car. Handling safety is ensured by modifications to the suspension system and the car's Dynamic Stability Control (DSC), which is adapted due this model's specific wheel loads.

Production in Oxford and Munich
The Mini E has already gone through the major phases of product development for mass-produced vehicles and passed numerous crash tests on the way. The Mini E's energy storage unit emerged completely unscathed from all of the crash tests mandated by US standards.

Production of the 500 cars will take place at the company's Oxford and Munich sites and is scheduled for completion before the end of 2008. Mini's Plant Oxford will be responsible for manufacturing the entire vehicle on the standard production line, with the exception of the drive components and the lithium-ion battery. The units will then be transferred to a specially equipped manufacturing facility situated on BMW plant premises where the electric motor, battery units, performance electronics and transmission will be integrated.