- The next-generation Mini Cooper Electric could leave tradition behind and shift from a front-drive layout to a rear-wheel-drive setup, according to a report from Autocar.
- The report suggests that the next Cooper EV could be built on BMW’s Gen6 platform that underpins BMW’s Neue Klasse i3 and is built with rear-drive in mind.
- The switch in platforms could also serve to give the Cooper Electric a huge boost in power, up from the current maximum of 215.
Some traditions are sacrosanct while others are more like habits. The Mini Cooper featuring a front-wheel-drive platform probably isn’t an inviolable rule, but it is something we’ve come to expect. Interestingly, a new report from Autocar subverts those same expectations and suggests that the next-generation Cooper Electric could adopt a rear-drive setup.
According to the report, Mini has started development work on the next-gen Cooper Electric, which is slated to arrive in the next few years. When it does show up, the next EV Cooper will be built on BMW’s new Gen6 platform that currently underpins the Neue Klasse i3 and iX3.
As things stand now, the Gen6 platform doesn’t support FWD cars. The larger drive motors for the rear axle are equipped with gearboxes, but the smaller motors attached to the front axle are not.
The combustion Cooper could make the same layout switch as the EV. According to a separate Autocar report, the BMW 1-series that the Cooper gasser shares a platform with will revert to a rear-drive base in 2028. BMW’s development boss, Joachim Post, alluded to the outlet that the Mini could do the same. The executive said the brand would pick “the optimum for the package,” and that “sheer driving pleasure” is Mini’s top priority.
While both versions of the Cooper share a similar design ethos, the combustion model is really a heavily overhauled version of the previous-generation Cooper, while the EV is based on a more modern platform. Still, Holger Hampf, the brand’s design chief, told Autocar that maintaining the Cooper’s proportions and style is “non-negotiable.”
➡️ Skip the lot. Let Car and Driver help you find your next car.
Jack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1.
After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf.