Mini's First Electric Car, Cooper SE, Heads To The Nurburgring But Not To Set A Lap Record

The Nurburgring is a special place for MINI and that's because each and every of its new car is tested here. So it didn't come as a surprise when the company decided to take the Mini Cooper SE, the company's first electric car, to the track. However, it's not looking for a track record with its first electric car. What it's looking at is a record of a different nature and that is maximum efficiency and a high level of sensitivity in the right foot to negotiate the 'Green Hell' in Green Mode without touching the brake pedal.

The new MINI Cooper SE is the first electrified model from the BMW Group in which the driver can individually determine the extent of recuperation and the associated deceleration effect. Depending on the mode selected, the electric motor supplies more or less energy back to the battery as soon as the driver takes their foot off the pedal. The braking effort associated with toggling the electric motor to engage generator operation is correspondingly high or low.

The Mini Cooper SE can negotiate the 'Green Hell' in Green Mode without touching the brake pedal.

The new MINI Cooper SE would complete the efficiency test on the Nurburgring in Green Mode. Alongside a comfort-related characteristic steering curve, this setting for the MINI Driving Modes also encompasses a rather less spontaneous response from the actuator. There is also an option to activate the Green + Mode using the right-hand toggle on the characteristic switch panel beneath the central instrument.

This additionally deactivates the automatic climate control and the seat heating in order to save more energy. The recuperation mode is selected with another toggle switch to the left of the start/stop button. This enables the driver to use the one-pedal feeling typical of the new MINI Cooper SE to suit their individual preferences in order to increase the dynamic performance and efficiency simultaneously in all-electric driving round fast bends.

The first lap at the Nurburgring has already revealed the extent to which the two-stage recuperation increases driving fun in tandem with efficiency. More tests will be conducted by Mini very soon