Tuesday 13th April 2010

Electric Mini Breaks 10mins at the 'Ring

Tweaked Mini E and DTM hand manage 9m 51s at a foggy Nordschleife

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BMW's Mini E electric hatch has managed to crack the 10-minute barrier at the Nurburgring Nordschleife.

A mildly modified Mini E managed a time of 09m 51.45s, hitting a top speed of 187kph (116mph) along the way, with former DTM driver Thomas Jaeger at the wheel.

The Mini E Race (as the 'Ring car is called) has a lightweight body, a roll cage, and track-tweaked suspension, brakes and tyres. The rest of the car - including the 5088 lithium ion batteries and 201bhp electric motor is unchanged from the road-going version, aside from a longer gear ratio for the single-stage helical gearbox.

"The aim of this unique undertaking was to provide an impressive showcase of the great potential of the MINI E and its environment-friendly drive concept," says project leader Peter Krams.

It's all pretty impressive, but all the more so when you consider that Mr Jaeger posted his time on a deeply fog-bound Nürburgring, as you'll see if you click on the video below...

 

[sprinter1050]

What's with all the man hugs ?? All he's done is drive a car.

Must be a continental thing- certainly very un-British.

No doubt the music was necessary to give some noise to the show : (being electric an that)

[T0M]

Roughly the same time as a standard Ford Transit then.

[Turbobanana]

Would have been quicker if he didn't need the lights and wipers, perhaps?

[soad]

sprinter1050 said:

What's with all the man hugs ?? All he's done is drive a car.

Bloody metrosexuals.

Good on them for taking it on a track, i suppose.

[Pothole]

sprinter1050 said:

Must be a continental thing- certainly very un-British.

like the car, then.

[The Wookie]

sprinter1050 said:

What's with all the man hugs ??

It probably took him 10 or 15 learning laps to crack 10 minutes. If they were charging it on a 3 pin plug they could well have been there for 3 months

[neilpurves]

Where is the slot and the guy with the big controller?

[MrTappets]

Hang on a second, surely with modified suspension, brakes and tyres the time is about as relevant as Jag's 220mph XF, which turned out to have aerodynamic mods and 600bhp?!

[ZesPak]

T0M said:

Roughly the same time as a standard Ford Transit then.

my first toughts

[Leicesterdave]

For a car weighing one and a half ton not bad!

[XitUp]

T0M said:

Roughly the same time as a standard Ford Transit then.

In much worse weather.
And really about 16 seconds faster.
And the transit wasn't standard.

But yeah.

Edited by XitUp on Tuesday 13th April 12:42

[Emubiker]

seems a bit more sporty (performance wise) than the CR-Z too. And untill a hotter looking version is officially revealed, it looks better too. IMO obviously

[FlossyThePig]

ZesPak said:

T0M said:

Roughly the same time as a standard Ford Transit then.

my first toughts

wikipedia said:

Ford Transit, driven by Sabine Schmitz - 10:08.49
Vehicle had several parts removed and a draft vehicle in front of it ( A Dodge Viper ) for the 10:08 lap time.

That doesn't sound standard to me.

[Fury1630]

It's max range is over 14 miles then - surprising.

[Torquey]

I'd rather drive the transit and make up those 16 seconds later on when refuelling.

[jaik]

FlossyThePig said:

ZesPak said:

T0M said:

Roughly the same time as a standard Ford Transit then.

my first toughts

wikipedia said:

Ford Transit, driven by Sabine Schmitz - 10:08.49
Vehicle had several parts removed and a draft vehicle in front of it ( A Dodge Viper ) for the 10:08 lap time.

That doesn't sound standard to me.

Still closer to standard than the Mini though, with it's altered suspension, tyres and brakes, lightweight body and rollcage.

And it's a van.

Edited by jaik on Tuesday 13th April 12:57

[LCR270]

Impressive due to visibility, but did it have to wait 16 hours charging to get driven back to the factory?

Performance = yes relatively so - depends what the cooper s do the ring in ?

Endurance = not sure about that, i doubt it could do more than 200 miles after that lap ?

Edited by LCR270 on Tuesday 13th April 12:58

[Tangent Police]

That amount of lithium ion batteries would have got very interesting if one had decided to malfunction.

[Mr Gear]

jaik said:

FlossyThePig said:

ZesPak said:

T0M said:

Roughly the same time as a standard Ford Transit then.

my first toughts

wikipedia said:

Ford Transit, driven by Sabine Schmitz - 10:08.49
Vehicle had several parts removed and a draft vehicle in front of it ( A Dodge Viper ) for the 10:08 lap time.

That doesn't sound standard to me.

Still closer to standard than the Mini though, with it's altered suspension, tyres and brakes, lightweight body and rollcage.

And it's a van.

Edited by jaik on Tuesday 13th April 12:57

... that got towed round the ring by a Viper! What a stupid comparison.

[LCR270]

found the answer;

8:55 Mini Cooper S Works (200 hp)