It feels like the current Mini just got here, with its cute interior and quirky screens. But the suits in Munich are already planning the next one. Here’s the thing, though, BMW’s new electric platform isn’t really set up for front-wheel drive. So, according to Autocar, the next-gen electric Mini Cooper might have to be rear-wheel drive.
“We have started to work on the next generation of Mini, and what follows now is a look at the entire portfolio,” Mini design boss Holger Hampf told Autocar.
Right now, the electric Mini is built on a front-wheel drive platform developed with Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor, and it’s built in China. However, when it comes time for the new Mini, it will use BMW’s Gen6 powertrain platform, which is used in Neue Klasse models. And while Gen6 powertrains have front-mounted motors, they’re secondary to the main rear-mounted motors, as the latter have gearboxes and the former don’t. So, at the moment, it isn’t set up for front-wheel drive-only and BMW engineers reportedly told Autocar that they don’t plan on changing that. So that would force Mini to be rear-wheel drive, or at least all-wheel drive with a rear bias.
“We will see what the future is,” BMW development boss Joachim Post told Autocar. While Post didn’t say which axle would drive the next Mini, he did say that BMW would choose the best package for “sheer driving pleasure.”
Either way, it will look like a proper Mini. “You can ask a Brit or a German or an Italian, you can ask a five-year-old, and they will recognise a Mini based on the proportions of the car,” Hampf said. “Every five-year-old will know this is a Mini. It’s my job to treat it with respect.”
If the next-gen Mini does go rear-drive, it might be the only time people complain about that switch. Front-wheel drive isn’t typically the enthusiast’s choice but it’s been one of the defining characteristics of Mini since the original in the Fifties. Would a rear-drive Mini be fun? Of course. Would it feel like a Mini? I’m not sure. However, I’ll never complain about rear-wheel drive hot-hatch of any kind. So it’s a win/win no matter what happens.
