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The all-electric Mini E is almost ready to begin its limited production run of 500 cars for California, though it seems buyers will have to pay a pretty penny for the Mini's one-year lease -- $850 per month. BMW officials say that because of the hand-built production and cutting-edge technology, this price won't fully cover the actual costs of the E's development.

On the upside, though, the Mini E has an expected range of 150 miles on a 2.5-hour charge, and we're told that this car won't be a total slug off the line. This will save in fuel costs, but still, when compared to a standard Mini Cooper's leasing price of about $350/month for two years, it might not seem all that worth it.

An electric Mini seems like a pretty hot ticket and this first-generation run of 500 models will be a good way for the engineers to note any malfunctions and potentially work out how to mass-produce the Mini E.

+ Motor Authority: Mini USA prices electric Mini Cooper lease at $850/month

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Mini-oriented spy shots have been coming in hot and heavy these days, with images of the Mini E mule getting some air time right before the official shots were outed, as well as exclusive first images of the production Mini Crossover. Parent BMW seems to be hitting its small car stride at just the right time, as interest in the already popular Mini brand seems to reach a new high each week.

Today our tireless shooters have caught out the 2009 iteration of the Mini Cooper S convertible with almost no disguise, save a few bars of black tape and one instance of the ever-popular, BMW paisley-swirl camouflage. The small patch of cover for the rear window likely hides the fact that Mini has done away with the previous convertible’s unsightly roll hoops, providing less conspicuous pop-up items for the new car.

The new Cooper S convertible will carry all the same engine options as the hardtop car after it makes its world debut at the North American International Auto Show in Motown this January.  

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Mini was proud to release information regarding its first zero emissions vehicle this weekend, the much anticipated, electrically powered Mini E.

Set to be released into private hands following the car’s formal introduction at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show, the first fleet of Mini Es will number just 500 in a limited initial production run. Parent BMW hopes to gain valuable experience through this rather extensive field test of the new EV, expecting that findings from the Mini E will make their way into future, mass-produced vehicles.

The EV Mini boasts rather impressive stats from its 150 kilowatt electric motor, as the unit makes a strong 204 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque. The strangely horsepower-heavy motor is able to propel the Mini from 0 to 62 miles per hour in just 8.5 seconds, and will travel something like 150 miles on a full charge of its lithium-ion battery pack.

The battery system is rather impressive in its own right, containing some 5088 cells grouped into 48 modules. Charging time has been a large focus of the Mini E project—Mini is handing out a high current charging station for the owner’s garage with each vehicle—with the batteries able to go from empty to a full charge in about two and a half hours. Additionally the new Mini’s engine acts as a brake whenever a driver takes his foot off the accelerator, meaning that roughly 75 percent of all deceleration can be handled by the engine in most city driving situations. That energy is also recouped by the batteries, providing a boost of up to 20 percent to the car’s range.

Read the full Mini E press release below or take a look at the car in the gallery up top.

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It seems that Mini is wasting no time in getting its miniature 4x4 ready for the consumer market, with this first ever test mule being spotted just two weeks after the company debuted its Crossover concept at the Paris Motor Show. Crossover, Crossman, and Maxi are all names that have been ascribed to the Mini Ute so far, though the actual name of the car is still unknown.

We do know that the fourth Mini model will use some sort of all-wheel-drive system, will have four conventional doors, and will not make use of a Clubman style split tailgate door…no matter what it looks like in these photographs. Our spy shooter has it on good authority that those doors are just mockups, meant to slightly mislead, and that the real car will offer a more traditional lift back.

The scale of the car is a bit difficult to tell from this photo set, but we’re assured the Mini crossover is in fact quite a bit bigger than BMW’s current 1-Series. Have a look for yourself in the gallery above or read the photographer’s own notes below.

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Engineers at BMW are busy cooking up an all-electric version of the effervescent Mini, a car that should help the automaker off-set its less conscientious offerings from the likes of the M motorsports division and Rolls-Royce. Such an EV will come in handy when trying make the grade for upcoming European Union CO2 standards, as well as regulations coming on the books for California in 2012.
 
The electric Mini may look very similar (re: almost exactly the same) as the current cars, but can be fairly easily distinguished by two things; the slightly misleading “HYBRID” sticker on the side, and the total absence of offal-spewing tailpipes.
 
Have a closer look at the super-green Mini in our gallery above or read the shooter’s words down below.

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Mini offered up its Crossover Concept vehicle at last week’s media preview of the 2008 Paris Motor Show, showing off the first version of the car that will likely morph into a fourth model for the popular small car brand. We got down with the details of the car long before we flew to Paris (read that post here), but though it wise to take a minute to share some of the live images we brought back with us. Take a look above.

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When you go to Mini's website and decide to build a vehicle, it says that there are over 10 million possible configurations. As if that weren't enough, the folks at Mini have teamed up with Original Wraps, a custom graphics manufacturer to allow consumers to personalize their carseven further.

Original Wraps uses professional-grade 3M vinyl to create all of their custom decals which can be outfitted on any Mini vehicle bought since 2002. The wraps are coated with a glossy, laminated finish, and custom cut for perfect fit to each Mini. Original Wraps even allows consumers to create their own designs. "Mini owners are already personalizing their vehicles in one way or another, but there hasn't been a reliable one-stop shop with unique designs, until now," says Tom Stemple, CEO and founder of Original Wraps. There are a wide variety of stickers, stripes, roof decals, and side decals to choose from, including some limited edition designs.

Each graphic costs anywhere between $9.99 and $349.99 ("Limited Edition" full-vehicle wraps are priced higher) and can be purchased at minimotoringgraphics.com or through any Mini dealer. Browse our gallery to see some of the Original Wraps designs and be sure to check out their website for more photos and information.

(Full press release below)

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It’s hard not to love the Mini Cooper S, what with its cheeky design and pocket-rocket performance. Our staff applauds the Mini for being one of the most fun small cars on the market today that still yields fuel economy figures in the high 20s. Our test car’s as-tested price rang in at over $30,000, which is a bit much for a Cooper S, but if we could delete a few of the unnecessary lux options, we’re sure that we’d have a perfect balance of fun and function.

Click through the post to read our editors’ full impressions.

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Even though the 2008 Mini Cooper S Convertible is still based on the previous generation of the "new" Mini, there's still a lot of good things about the supercharged, droptop Cooper. Sure, the next iteration of the Mini convertible is right around the corner, but in the meantime, we sampled this special Sidewalk edition of the topless Cooper. Complete with a unique exterior color, a brown leather interior, and some really cool wheels, the Sidewalk Mini was indeed a pleasant car to have in our test fleet for our warm July weather.

Click through to read our full impressions of the Mini Cooper S Convertible.

While it may look like the parking lot for some kind of international Super Friends meeting, there’s actually a much more pedestrian (though considerably more boring) explanation for this gaggle of Minis. BMW has prepared the set of eight cars for the upcoming G8 summit in Hokkaido, Japan. Each Mini carries the colors of a member nation, playing up on the flag bearing heritage of the cheeky small car.

We’re not sure how the decision was made to separate the supercharged countries from the plainer Cooper group, but we are sure the inclusion of both Germany and the U.K. in the high-po set was no accident. Just wait until the flagged out Corvettes get here…

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We at Winding Road and NextAutos are always eager to test the diesel offerings from global manufacturers and we were grinning with excitement when the folks at Bosch offered us the keys to a Mini Cooper with a 1.6-liter diesel engine. According to Bosch, this Mini will achieve fuel economy numbers in upwards of 50 miles per gallon, which will shame many hybrid offerings currently sold in the States. (Click through to read our full impressions of the Mini Cooper D.)

Chris Paukert
Editor-In-Chief

Seeing as our recent exclusive access story on the Mini Cooper S John Cooper Works coupe and Clubman attracted a little indignant huffing and puffing from Mini geeks due to a couple of incorrect pricing projections, we’re bringing you the definite truth from the floor of the New York auto show.

If you own a Mini, you probably like all-things Mini. You probably own a Mini t-shirt, keychain, etc. Maybe not.

But, if you own a Mini and want matching luggage, it’s available. We’re not sure if the Mini-design team had anything to do with the bags, but they look quality. And, too no surprise, the luggage is small.

In Spain in February, press reps from Munich hauled us into a dark corner of a bar and told us that we could shoot both the Mini and Mini Clubman John Cooper Works versions prior to their Geneva show debuts. Original art of any hot pocket-rockets from Mini is too good to pass up, so we jumped at the chance.

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Art house publication Visionaire has been producing multi-format albums of fashion and art in limited editions since 1991. Though in the past these collections have featured designers, art directors, and image-makers, its latest creation focuses on music and sound.

Visionaire 53 is a collection of five 12-inch vinyl “picture disc