The brand’s first dedicated EV with no ICE option will be unveiled this year and promises to stay close to the promise of 2022’s Aceman concept
https://www.carscoops.com/author/chris-chilton-cc/
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by Chris Chilton
January 4, 2024 at 08:30
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There’s been plenty to see and talk about from Mini in recent months with the launch of the new electric Cooper hatch as well as the also-new Countryman. But hot on their heels is the car that will eventually sit between them in the brochure lineup, and could be more popular than both: the Aceman.
Scheduled to debut this year and be on sale in many countries (but not the U.S. – more on that later) in 2025, the Aceman is Mini’s first pure EV model, by which we mean it will only be available as an electric vehicle. The new Countryman, by contrast, offers a choice of ICE or electric powertrains, and while the new Mini Cooper hatch is an EV, it will be sold with an updated version of the current combustion-powered Mini hatch, rebranded Cooper and given some of the EV’s styling cues.
This prototype is still well wrapped in disguise, but compared with the prototypes we were spotting at the beginning of 2023, it is more representative, showing us the correct head and taillights, and probably wheels, too. When the covers do finally come off, we’re expecting the production car to look very similar to the 2022 Aceman concept.
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We’re also expecting it to be fitted with the same battery and single-motor, front-wheel drive setup as the new electric Mini Cooper hatch. That would mean 181 hp (184 PS / 135 kW) in basic models with a 40 kWh battery and 215 hp (218 PS / 160 kW) for the more muscular trims with the 54 kWh pack, while Autocar reports that a hotter JCW grade will arrive in 2026, a year after the main launch. Also lifted from the new Cooper is the circular OLED infotainment touchscreen, head-up display, and distinctive interior design that fuses modern materials with classic Mini styling cues.
The Aceman goes into production in China in 2025 alongside the new EV Cooper hatch and will be exported to Europe the same year. By 2026, though, Mini’s Oxford plant in the UK will start cranking out both models and since we already know that the hatch won’t be coming to the U.S. until the 2026 model year because of the tariffs on Chinese-built cars entering America, it’s logical to assume that U.S.-bound Acemans will also be delayed, meaning they might not arrive until the 2027 model year.
