Technology: Mini Aceman testing
On the last few meters
Mini is currently completely reorganizing its product portfolio. While there will soon be new versions of the Cooper and Countryman, a new vehicle is coming: the Aceman. The Aceman is scheduled to celebrate its premiere this spring and is currently completing its final testing phase before it goes to customers in the summer.
To ensure that there are no unpleasant surprises for customers, the Mini Aceman is currently undergoing the final phase of its cold-land testing in the Arctic Circle and hot-land testing in the Californian desert. In addition to the normal functions such as durability, driving behavior and drive, last but not least is the functions of the electric drive. There is a real torture program for air conditioning and charging the 54 kWh battery pack, the drive and the control units at up to 50 degrees Celsius in the dusty desert sand. An entry-level version with less power and a smaller 40 kWh battery pack will follow at a later date. The envisaged ranges: between 320 and 450 kilometers.
While the Mini Cooper and the larger Countryman are offered either as a combustion engine or an electric model, the Aceman remains an electric model with a power range between 130 kW / 177 HP and 160 kW / 218 HP. The medium Mini could become the new bestseller in the small portfolio. “The purely electric vehicle concept makes it possible to direct the design more towards Mini’s traditional core values in the spirit of the principle of Creative Use of Space,” says Mini chief designer Oliver Heilmer, “this creates models that take up little space on the road and at the same time offer more comfort, more versatility and more emotions inside than ever before.” Mini fans have to say goodbye to elegant furnishings with leather seats. While these are very popular with the mostly elegantly equipped models, Mini no longer leaves its customers a choice. You lie down on plastic alone and look at the striking, but not always ergonomically perfect center display – rounded in the middle of the dashboard.