BMW has revealed the all electric version of the iconic Mini hatchback called the Mini E ahead of its debut at the LA Auto Show next month. The Mini E is propelled by a 204 bhp electric motor which uses rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Considering the official claim of 0-62mph time of 8.5 seconds and a top whack of 95 mph, the guys at BMW have done a good job of making sure the Mini E has a decent bit of fun quotient too. The Mini E will come with it’s own charging station called ‘wallbox’ which can be installed at the owner’s garage and will give a full charge in just 2.5 hours. Thanks to the lithium-ion batteris range is claimed is good at a claimed 150 miles on a single charge, adequate for city running. However since this is an all electric car, if you run out charge you are very much stranded. Due to the battery pack there are no rear seats in this Mini (the rear seats are anyways too cramped in the regular Mini) and the weight too has bloated to 1,465 kgs.

500 Mini E will be produced at the company’s plants in Oxford and Munich and will be leased to commercial and private customers in California, New York and New Jersey starting early 2009. This program might extend to Europe too. These cars will bear unique visual cues like a serial number on their front fenders, dark silver paint and a yellow logo depicting a stylized power plug in the shape of an “E” set against the light silver backdrop of the roof. The same logo in smaller dimensions is there on the charger port lid and the dashboard trim. The 500 test vehicles will be monitored under real life conditions and tested periodically during and at the end of the year long lease term.