Patrick George

Automakers must feel like they have something to prove with electric cars. Every new concept and production EV we hear about has supercar horsepower, a ludicrous 0-60 mph time and an interior that looks like the H.R. Giger version of an Apple Store. What if I just want something simple, small and easy to navigate a city with that just doesn’t happen to run on gasoline? After driving a very special electric Mini, I have found an EV future I’m quite happy with.

(Full Disclosure: Mini brought this special electric conversion classic over from Germany for the New York Auto Show and let a handful of outlets drive it around Manhattan for a bit. Jalopnik was one of them.)

This classic Mini was an appropriate choice to show off during the New York Auto Show. Mini, struggling in some ways with America’s newfound and bottomless appetite for SUVs, is about to go in hard on electric cars. An all-electric Mini is coming in 2019, and some within the BMW Group have even suggested the brand could eventually go all-electric in the U.S.

I’m not sure I’d bank on that quite yet, but after driving an electric Mini myself I’d say the concept really works.

Original article including video and photos at Jalopnik...