Mini Going for Max Overhaul With the Cooper, Aceman SUV, and New EVs

The existing Mini Hardtop and hatch names will officially be shelved; going forward they are rebranded as Cooper. The Cooper will be available with two- or four doors, regular roof or convertible, with an internal combustion engine and some versions will also be offered as a battery electric vehicle. There will be base models: C if it drinks gas, E if electric. Sportier, higher-performance versions will be Cooper S if they have an ICE; SE if electric. The electric Coopers will be built in China as part of a joint venture with Great Wall. Coopers with combustion engines will continue to be built in Oxford, U.K.

The Mini Cooper two-door with a hardtop and internal combustion engine will be available in the U.S. in the first half of 2024. The four-door hardtop and ICE will follow in the second half of the year. The Mini Convertible with ICE does not launch until early 2025 in North America. Mini has not said when this market will get a Cooper hardtop two-door EV or electric convertible.

The Countryman SUV lineup gets bigger and goes electric as part of the plan for Mini to be an all-electric brand by 2030. The new Countryman with an internal combustion engine will be offered in North America in the first half of 2024 and the battery-electric Countryman will go on sale in the second half of the year.

This is the final model year for the Mini Clubman—it will not be part of the next generation of Mini. Production ends in February 2024, making 2024 its last model year for the U.S. market.

The gap will be filled with the Mini Aceman, an electric four-door crossover that will be the first electric-only model; the rest of the Mini lineup comes with a choice of EV or ICE powertrains. There will still be John Cooper Works drivetrains for all bodies, starting with a Countryman for North America at the end of this year.

As part of the current generation’s parting shot, Mini will launch the 2024 John Cooper Works 1to6 Edition in September. It is a limited run of the two-door hot hatch with a six-speed manual. But there will only be 999 of them available globally.

Inside, Mini is going more minimalistic, a bit of a throwback to the original Mini in 1959 which had a steering wheel, round center instrument display, and a toggle bar. The highlight of the next generation of Mini is the large 9.5-inch round touchscreen—more detail on its functionality to come. There is a head-up display instead of a traditional instrument cluster.

The steering wheel is smaller, simpler, and substantially thicker—so thick I could not wrap my fingers fully around it when my hands are in the 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock position. It feels a bit like a go-kart, which is what the Mini experience has always been based on. It is a two-spoke wheel with a funky cloth strap that runs from the center of the steering wheel to the bottom, attaching at the 6 o’clock position. Don’t worry, there is still a toggle bar.

The lowered dash for greater visibility is covered in a knitted fabric and the car has an array of colors for its ambient lighting. There are four trim levels, all with different colors. We saw a prototype with off-white leather seats and cool blue stitching pattern that cascaded down from the top of the seat to about the middle. It was finished with blue piping and the Mini logo. There are reclaimed materials inside. Instead of a start button to push, there is an imbedded key that can be turned if you have the key fob with you in the car. Mini promises more information on the digital connectivity of the new Mini family so stay tuned to Motortrend.com for further detail.