MINI Cooper SE Convertible revealed

MINI claims to have stolen a march on the EV world with its first production electric cabriolet, the 2023 MINI Cooper SE Convertible.

The good news is that the MINI Cooper SE Convertible is set to become a darling of the coffee-shop set, but the bad news is that only 999 of them will be made, and they’ll only be sold in Europe.

Based around the MINI Electric Hatch, the MINI Cooper SE Convertible climbs in weight and declines in luggage capacity (to just 160 litres) compared to its hard-hat brother, and will only be sold in black or silver.

It won’t be a ’tween-cities cruiser, either, with its 28.9kWh lithium-ion battery only giving it 201km of range – down 23km on the lighter hatchback.

MINI will fit it with a BMW-sourced 135kW/270Nm electric motor, which matches up with the EV hatch and also delivers the same 7.3sec 0-100km/h acceleration time.

MINI says the Cooper SE Convertible tops out at 149km/h and that its battery, with 32.6kWh of gross charging capacity, will recharge in only 2.5 hours via a standard 11kW AC charger, and in just 36 minutes with a 50kW charger.

“Three years ago we launched the all-electric MINI Cooper SE, and today one in five MINIs sold in Europe is an all-electric MINI,” MINI Brand head Stefani Wurst said.

“This success has spurred us to implement the small series of the MINI Cooper SE Convertible within only a few months.

“I'm delighted that we can offer 999 MINI customers an extraordinary and exclusive open-air go-kart feeling.”

While the MINI Cooper SE Convertible has grown 9mm in length to 3863mm, the biggest news outside the powertrain is that it rides on new 17-inch wheels made completely from secondary (recycled or repurposed) aluMINIum.

There are a lot of claims for upcoming EVs, and some of them are more authentic than others.

After all, Tesla has been promising to deliver a new Roadster since December 2016 and that it would start production 2021, but there’s still no sign of it.

One leading contender to counter MINI’s claim to offer the first convertible EV in production comes from China, and it’s actually a lot more MINI than the MINI Cooper SE Convertible.

The SAIC-GM-Wuling MINI EV Cabrio went on sale in China last September priced at just $US13,844. It’s no racer, with just 30kW of power from its 26.5kWh battery pack, but it’s definitely a production car and it’s definitely a convertible.

Another contender is the Abarth 500 Electric Cabrio, based on the Fiat 500 (Cinquecento) Electric.

Shown for the first time at last month’s Brussels motor show, the Abarth 500 Electric Cabrio can offer up to 113kW and delivers up to 320km of WLTP range.

At €46,000, the Abarth 500 Cabrio is very much on sale in MINI’s European heartland, with a limited run of 1949 cars.

BYD is expected to make a decision in the first half of this year about whether or not to send its Han EV Convertible into production.

It has been testing convertible prototypes alongside the coupe and wagon versions of the Han for a year already, and it was hoped the convertible would give it a headstart in North America.

Fellow Chinese brand MG has pencilled in April for the launch of its Cyberster electric convertible. MG also has a growing presence in Europe and Australia, so it could be give the brand a buzz here.

Polestar has already confirmed it’s heading to production with the Polestar 6 electric roadster in 2026, but the sports car will hardly compete with the MINI – and nor will the Bentley Continental GTC EV or the Rolls-Royce Spectre Convertible, both of which are due around 2025.

Maserati is said to be making a decision on Folgore EV versions of its upcoming GranCabrio and MC20 Spyder this year, and both cars could be in production relatively quickly after that.

BMW itself has an i4 Convertible in the works for the next generation in 2026 or 2027, based on its Neue Klasse architecture, while South Korea’s Genesis is looking to put its Genesis X Convertible electric cabrio concept into production as soon as next year.

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