MINI has confirmed that it’s going to present the security automotive for the 2021 FIA System E championship, revealing this: the MINI Electric Pacesetter.
It’s a MINI Electric with an uprated all-electric powertrain, a number of chassis and suspension alterations and a wild look inherited from the newest John Cooper Works GP mannequin.
It’s additionally a preview of a road-car to come – MINI has already revealed a prototype John Cooper Works model of the MINI Electrical, which is at the moment being put via its paces by the model’s engineers on the Nurburgring.
“This excessive model of the MINI Electrical has been developed because the Security Automotive within the System E, so is clearly not supposed to be used on public roads. Nevertheless it does reveal one of many instructions we might take with the electrification of the JCW model,” stated MINI Boss Bernd Körber.
It wears a radical bodykit tailored from the Cooper Works GP mannequin, with one or two tweaks. The entrance and rear aprons have been redesigned for weight saving functions, as have the wild wanting wheel arches.
Primarily based on the newly facelifted model of the MINI Electrical, the entrance finish is totally closed off save for an space beneath the fake grille and squared off ducts for cooling the entrance brakes. White flashing lights are built-in into the bonnet.
A singular security automotive has been utilized livery alongside vibrant orange 18-inch 4 spoke wheels and fittings similar to flashing lights on the massive rear spoiler, too.
MINI claims that weight drops by 130kg in contrast with the usual MINI Electrical to 1,230kg. The crash weight loss program is most blatant inside, the place the two-seat MINI has been stripped again to solely the naked necessities. Even the infotainment display has been changed by a carbon-fibre panel, whereas the door handles have been changed by material straps. A full roll cage seems alongside six-point racing harnesses.
It additionally boasts some mechanical revisions. Energy is as much as 181bhp – matching that of the BMW i3 S – and 280Nm of torque. 0-62mph now takes 6.7 seconds, down from the 7.3 seconds of the road-going MINI Electrical, and 0-37mph takes 3.6 seconds.
The suspension has been given an overhaul, with adjustable coilovers and a 10mm wider monitor. The four-piston brake calipers are from the Cooper Works GP.
The MINI Electrical Pacesetter will make its debut on the second spherical of the 2021 System E season in Rome on 10 April.
Click on right here to learn our experiences with the MINI Electric over six months of testing…