Starting next year, Los Angeles and New York City and surrounding areas will be able to lease from a fleet of 500 all-electric Mini-Coopers says BMW. The car is called the Mini E, rhymes with Mini Me.

Mini E - Electric Mini Cooper

The car will be able to travel 150 miles on a single charge and has a top speed of 95mph. That second characteristic is quite useful in a country where 75mph is the top speed and cities where 60mph is pushing the limit.

Mini E - Electric Mini Cooper

Why do they make cars that can go faster than the speed limit in the U.S.? How much money could be saved and how much of our environment could be protected if the U.S. just didn’t allow cars to be made that could go over the speed limit any more?

Back to being happy about Mini E, the lease for it will run $850. Charging is free (to be reimbursed) and all technical service and maintenance will be covered by BMW. We’re happy and want to test drive one. – via CNN

Ever since I’ve heard an electric MINI might be built, I kept my eyes open here and there to be sure I get the latest about it. Today I was reading that the guys at CarMagazine managed to spot it in Munich, Germany, with no exhaust pipes and the words “Hybrid Erprobungsfahrzeug” (Hybrid Test Vehicle) written on the sides and the back.

The big MINI fan in me is really excited to see that BMW is taking their plan to create a new vehicle for city drivers – dubbed Project i – to the next level. Though there isn’t anything official from the Germans, the new electric Mini will most likely be part of that project and will make public debut at the 2008 Los Angeles motor show in November. Can’t wait, can’t wait …

We already reported a couple of months ago that BMW will build the electric MINI but the rumor was that only 500 units will be built. Let’s hope, that BMW’s boss Norbert Reithofer will bring good news in November: mass-production!

Anyone for a battery powered MINI?

BMW may not be targeting environmentalists with their new Electric Mini but we’re really excited even though only 500 units will be produced. Chances are that you’re not going to buy one because rumors already say 490 of these models have already been leased to selected customers.

Destined for California only (hear that Bill? a test drive?) the new Mini EV will help meet the the zero-emissions vehicle mandate that requires automakers to build 7,500 non-polluting cars by 2014. It will be built in BMW’s factory in England and then sent to Munich to get the electric drivetrain installed.

“This step will allow the BMW Group to gain an initial knowledge of how mobility can be achieved efficiently using purely electrically powered vehicles,” Dr. Norbert Reithofer, chairman of BMW’s board of management, says. “Our task here is to combine the ultimate driving experience with an efficient electrified drive with practically no emissions.”

Biggest drawback I see right now is that they don’t go mainstream with it, but I suppose the Germans want to test the market, before making the investment. Would you buy one? I know I would!

Wired