MINI Electric hatch teased

MINI has begun teasing its first pure-electric car with images of the upcoming MINI Electric hatch's front grille and alloy wheel design posted on the car-maker's social media.

Claimed to offer "a look ahead to the brand's first fully-electric production model", both grille and alloy wheel look like they've been lifted off the 2017 MINI Electric Concept that was unveiled at the Frankfurt motor show.

That suggests the battery-powered hatchback seems primed to help it keep its concept car looks in MINI's bid to differentiate the Electric model from its petrol, diesel and hybrid siblings.

Back at the German show the concept car's styling seemed heavily inspired by the wind tunnel with elements like the enclosed grille and redesigned rims designed with drag in mind to boost the range.

Confirmed to have an on-sale date some time in 2019, MINI has already revealed the Electric will be built at the same Oxfordshire plant as the rest of the hatchback range.

To cut costs, the little electric MINI will share its electric motor and lithium-ion pack with the BMW i3.

Thanks to next-gen battery technology the pure-electric MINI is likely to come with a range of at least 400km.

Claimed to have been in development for more than 10 years, MINI's first experiment with a zero tailpipe-emission hatch began back in 2009 when it built 40 MINI E prototypes for real-world testing.

Boasting a modest (by today's standards) 25kWh lithium-ion battery the MINI E came equipped with a punchy 150kW/220Nm front-mounted electric motor.

Covering more than 415,000km in the hands of real drivers it was thought, back then, that the MINI E was certain to be green lit before the plug was quietly pulled from the program.