Mini Aceman EV is electric-only Clubman replacement
The Aceman is Mini's first electric-only car, and its first new nameplate since 2012
The Chinese-built electric crossover will join next-generation Mini Cooper and Mini Countryman
Mini has pinned the success of its next-generation line-up on its first electric-only car, the Aceman, which it expects to be its best-seller as it “does everything”.
The BMW-owned brand’s first new model name in 10 years, the Aceman will arrive in 2025 as a small electric crossover to fill the gap between the flagship Mini hatchback (to now be called Cooper) and Mini Countryman SUV.
The five-door crossover is said to be barely differentiated from last year’s concept, though the futuristic LED roof, wing mirrors, and bits of the interior will be adapted for production.
It will be the car that “ticks all the boxes”, Wurst said, sandwiched between the Cooper and now-larger Countryman as an indirect replacement for the estate-shaped Mini Clubman. It is Mini’s first new nameplate since the Mini Paceman in 2012.
Positioned to rival the upcoming Jeep Avenger, it will also be built in China and will use a stretched version of the electric Cooper’s Spotlight architecture.
It will also make use of its battery and power offerings (S: 181bhp; SE: 215bhp), but given the car is bigger and heavier than its supermini sibling, range for the entry-level 40kWh E is expected to be down on the Cooper’s 240 miles. Only two-wheel drive will be offered.
As with the Cooper, Mini has developed a soundtrack to accompany acceleration, but Wurst said it won't be like the operatic tune BMW offers in models such as the BMW iX.
A hot JCW version, using the same 54kWh battery as the SE, will arrive in 2026– around a year after the standard car, with a focus on power over range.
The Aceman gets a near-identical interior to the Cooper, albeit with even ‘funkier’ stylings on the cards; a knitted dashboard has been mooted.
*Read more: New Mini Cooper EV brings 215bhp and 240-mile range*
*Read more: 2024 Mini Countryman grows and gains EV option*
“The Cooper is the car that comes in lots of shapes [and guises]; the Aceman is like the standard: it only comes in five doors, only electric, only crossover. It ticks all the boxes,” said Wurst, adding it is an “important” car for the brand, especially for the UK.
It will be the car that has the broadest target market, as “you can buy it for your first car, or have it as your only car.” Wurst added she expects it to also sell well in Asia. “I think this car has the biggest potential; It is the one with the hottest ‘newness’ aspect.”
The Aceman has been photographed several times on public roads over the course of last year, undergoing testing near BMW’s research and development centre in Munich, Germany.
It measures 1590mm high, 4050mm long and is 1990mm wide, and other previous spy photos presented the Aceman wearing its final production bodywork, showing not just how it has evolved from the radical concept, but also giving clues as to how Mini’s design language will change as it moves onto the next generation of cars.
Most noticeably, it's clear how aerodynamic efficiency will play a more defining role in Mini’s design language as it moves to an all-electric line-up, with the production-spec Aceman adopting a rounded, clean front end and a less upright stance than the concept - although the silhouette has been broadly carried over.
In its positioning as the smallest five-door Mini model, the Aceman will in effect take over from today’s Mini Clubman estate, which isn't due to come back as an EV in Mini’s new-look product line-up, so expect similar levels of space front and rear - as well as comparable luggage capacity.
Otherwise, camouflage obscures many of the key details - save for the distinctive large headlights shared with the new Mini hatchback. The firm’s two most recent concepts, the Aceman and minimalistic Strip, showcased just how far the brand will go in its pursuit of enhanced sustainability for its cars. The showroom-ready Aceman will follow suit, by and large shunning chrome and leather and adopting a clean, one-screen central display for control of most key functions.
Representing a bold departure from the current crop of Mini’s, the Aceman’s interior is dominated by a large central screen and a set of five toggle switches. Aside from these, buttons are almost entirely absent from the sustainable textile or leatherette-clad dashboard fascia.