Major British car manufacturer could turn to electric MOTORBIKES as boss admits iconic brand ‘would consider’ change
A MAJOR British car manufacturer could turn its hand to electric motorcycles.
Bosses have admitted that the iconic brand “would consider” the bold change if there was enough demand from customers.
Mini CEO Stefanie Wurst seemed very open to the idea of a shift to two wheels in a recent interview.
Curiosity arose after Ms Wurst posted a picture of herself trying out a new BMW bike on her LinkedIn.
She wrote: “For an afternoon recently I swapped four wheels for two and jumped on the fully electric new BMW Motorrad CE 02 for a thrilling test ride.
“You can tell by the smile on my face how much I loved it.”
Mini has been owned by BMW Group for the last two decade so would have access to the company’s Motorrad motorcycle division.
Chatting to AutoExpress, Ms Wurst teased the possibility of a Mini bike in the future.
She said: “We have them in our family with BMW Motorrad.
“If we were to do something I would look into the family first and I think this is something I find interesting.
“If I have interest in our markets, this is something I would consider.”
Key to the potential project is the fact that BMW is now developing electric motorcycles, which would allow Mini to comply with its net zero targets.
And Oliver Heimler, head of design at Mini, even admitted that informal specs had been drawn up.
He revealed: “I actually gave the team the task, ‘Let’s do some bikes just in order to understand whether it works’.
“We tried little motorbikes as far as we can.
“It’s not our expertise…[but] you can create something that looks like a Mini.”
However, the report suggests that any Mini bike would like be very similar in technical design to the BMW CE 02, which Ms Wurst tested, with some stylistic tweaks to make its appearance fit the Mini lineup.
Best of British: The history of the Mini Cooper
The Mini Cooper emerged in 1961 as the result of the friendship between the British Motor Corporation’s head designer, Sir Alec Issigonis, and John Cooper, the head of the Cooper Car Company.
Cooper, who was also a designer of F1 cars, felt that the original Mini, first produced in 1959, had the potential to be tuned up for the world of motorsport.
The car debuted under both the Austin and Morris brands and was a commercial hit, with over 80,000 Mk I versions sold.
The Cooper was considered an icon of ’60s Britain, particularly after they were used by Michael Caine and his band of bullion thieves in 1969’s The Italian Job.
The original was discontinued in 1971 before being revived in 1990 under the ownership of the Rover Group, following the collapse of British Leyland.
Mini was then purchased as a standalone brand by BMW Group in 2000 when Rover was liquidated and continues to produce the Cooper to this day.
The lineage is set to continue on beyond 2030 in the form of an electric supermini bearing the iconic Cooper nameplate.