It seems like electric cars outperform ice vehicles. There are firms now offering kits for electric conversion. If the technology and battery storage improved would anyone consider electric?

 

I was planning to get a new Hardtop MINI electric. Any links for kits to convert existing MINIs?

 

Not until every town with a highway going thru it has a universal charging station and I don't think that will ever happen. Nothing like being in the middle of nowhere with NO resources.

 

Sure.
Been racing slot cars since the 60's.
Now...they are bigger and faster.

Mike

 

Electric cars? In my lifetime? Never. Can't go anywhere out of town because there's no guarantee of a charging station every couple hundred miles. Besides, one of the things I love about my Mini is the exhaust sound of the JCW with the right flap open.

 

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I am sure the day is coming where batteries are quick change so long distance won't be a problem.

It would be nice not to have spark plug, oil, ATF, & coolant changes to do.

 

I consider a conversion if my motor went kaboom as long as doing it wouldn't affect the handling.

 

I've been wanting an electric car for a couple of years now. I decided to wait until the electric mini is released. Hopefully it will have more that 100 mile range, which would suit 90% of my driving. I may keep my 04 MCS, I may just go for a rental on the occasion that I need a car with more range. I have two other cars, but they're both older than I am, and get HORRIBLE gas mileage, and aren't exactly road trip vehicles.

 

A major shift to electric cars can't happen until the electric grid gets updated. It can't handle charging 100 million cars!

 

The British Government’s has announced plans to BAN sales of all petrol and diesel cars by 2040...

 

And...
Xinhua news agency. asked about similar plans for a ban in Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel said: “I cannot name an exact year yet, but the E vehicle approach is the right one, because if we quickly invest in more charging infrastructure and technology for electric cars, a general changeover will be structurally possible.”
Volkswagen’s announcement of “Roadmap E,” (considered the most comprehensive electrification initiatives in the industry) includes 80 new EVs by 2025 and plans to spend more than €50 billion in battery cells, one of the largest procurement's in industry history.

 

Not to mention advancements in batteries and battery composition which currently requires rare earth metals.

 

I wonder what the effect would be on the chassis with the heavy battery packs.
Mini's very thin chassis is already susceptible to shock strut deformity. Adding a few hundred more pounds may weaken the car's overall structure.

 

But you lose all the IC stuff - air cleaners to exhaust tip to radiator to fuel tank.

 

With E vehicles you lose the cast iron block and transmission so the weight of the battery pack is a mute point. Electric motors at each axle. No more deiveline and rear end equals further weight reduction (moreso in larger commercial vehicles). Remember, we are not talking about replacing the ICE with an E motor and leaving the traditional drivetrain. It's a different concept and eventually I think the old dinosaur ICE will become a thing of the past.