Following its world premiere in early September, the next-generation MINI Cooper can finally be configured on the German website. However, you can only build the electric variant, be it the base E or the more potent SE. As before, the zero-emission hatchback is going to be sold strictly as a three-door model. Later in 2024, gasoline versions will be added to the lineup, and these will come with five doors as well.
With the new electric Cooper, MINI has revamped the trim levels: Essential, Classic, Favoured, and John Cooper Works. Math starts at €32,900 for the Cooper E Essential and goes up to €45,860 for the Cooper SE John Cooper Works. Of course, pricing doesn’t include options, which are plentiful. For example, there’s a pricey €8,160 Package XL that bundles a lot of equipment, varying from wireless smartphone charging and a head-up display to the more advanced LED headlights and the Driving Assistant Plus.
The new MINI 3-Door will get even more expensive with the release of a full-fat John Cooper Works model that will bring performance upgrades, not just these visual tweaks shown here on a British Racing Green example with red accents. The Oxford-based marque also intends to give the gasoline-fueled variant the hot hatch treatment with a JCW variant, so there are going to be plenty of options to choose from.
Unlike its predecessor built at home in the UK, the new electric MINI is going to be made initially in China by Spotlight Automotive. If that name doesn’t ring a bell, it’s a 50:50 joint venture between the BMW Group and Great Wall Motor to jointly develop and build next-generation EVs at a new factory in Zhangjiagang in the Jiangsu Province. From 2026, MINI will also build the electric Cooper in Oxford, together with the Aceman. The electric-only subcompact crossover will also initially roll off the assembly line in China beginning next year.
This will be the last generation of the Cooper to come with combustion engines considering MINI has pledged to go purely electric by 2030. Last month, Head of MINI Stefanie Wurst said the manual gearbox will not be available on these final ICE cars, which effectively makes the John Cooper Works 1to6 Edition the final model with a clutch pedal.
Source: MINI Deutschland
