MINI PRESS RELEASE

Munich/Nürburg. Taking on the infamous Nürburgring-Nordschleife circuit at race speed with an electrically powered car is an ambitious project, but the BMW Group has just become the first car manufacturer to make it happen. Today the MINI E Race, a modified race-spec version of the standard MINI E, completed a lap of the legendary 20.8 km “Green Hell” in a time of 09:51.45 minutes. The MINI E Race hit a top speed of 187 km/h.
“The length and profile of the Nordschleife place extreme demands on the technology of our electric car. But the MINI E Race met this considerable challenge with great authority,” said the BMW Group’s Peter Krams, who headed up the project. “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.”
At the wheel of the electric racer for the hot lap was former DTM racing driver Thomas Jäger from Munich. “I’ve driven this circuit many times, but never in such an extraordinary car,” said Jäger, the MINI Challenge champion in 2006. “The power of the electric motor has an incredible effect, as you can access its full reserves of torque at all times. Another element of this fascinating experience is the lack of noise from the drivetrain. All in all, that was certainly the cleanest and quietest race lap I’ve ever driven.”
Extensive preparations had to be completed before the car could roll out onto the Nürburgring-Nordschleife. The MINI E Race was fitted with a special lightweight body and a roll cage in order to ensure optimum performance and safety on the track. And various other components, such as the suspension, brakes and tyres, are also race specification. Other than that, however, the car relies almost exclusively on the standard technical make-up of the MINI E. For example, it shares the same 150 kW/204 hp electric motor, supplied with energy from 5,088 lithium-ion battery cells. The control electronics and the software were reprogrammed to achieve an optimal driving performance for the Nordschleife. The power from the emission-free motor is channelled to the front wheels via a single-stage helical gearbox with a lengthened gear ratio.
To see the video on the MINI E Race’s lap of the Nordschleife, please go to
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5z3BKaGqurQ

 

no wonder there is no money to go racing here in the US from Mini
my guess is they blew $500,000 Euro on that little adventure
When is Mini going to realise they will sell more cars by racing them than silly marketing?

 

Its part of MINI strategy...and they are cearly more focused in Europe than in the states...and here they don't have problems sellinga cars...but you don't either see much of them racing...it's still not part of their priorities. They are still consolidating their position in the market

 

Yeah, since there in no Challenge series in US, they should at least have some full factory support for exsisting teams in pro racing.

 

pretty cool though

 

Interesting little electric car, but 187kph is only 116mph, hardly a speed to write home about.

 

For car manufacturers, racing is primarily about silly marketing with a little bit of technological advancement. Seems to me that this Nürburgring thing has some aspect of technological advancement to it as well. It gives their engineers some experience working with technology for the future. It also works towards advancing the acceptance of electric cars by the general public.

I think what you are really sayings is, "When is MINI going to realize that they will sell more cars by doing what I find entertaining?" You want them to promote old technology, at the expense of new technology. I'd rather they spent the money on the future.

 

based on the amount of people who race and track our parts....... I have to disagree but it's always good to have an opinion

 

It's a start and its more than many electric cars set to come out of the building plants...just don't know for how long can he reach that speed

 

It's not far off the Tesla Roadster's 200 kph top speed. Not bad, given the difference in aerodynamics.