As a joint venture project between BMW and the Great Wall, the Beam brand is not silent in 2021 and has been frequently appearing. "i ZhiBing" has also been the first to expose the appearance and interior design of the new domestic pure electric MINI, and recently appeared in China in a completely hypocritical state. Although the previous test cars tried to create exactly the same structural contours as the old models through camouflage stickers, as we predicted before, both the cover opening and the taillight group outline have changed completely.
It is planned that the MINI brand will not completely stop the development of gasoline vehicles until 2025, and fully electrify in 2030. Therefore, the new MINI will be a pure electric version and a gasoline version in parallel, and will be produced in China and the United Kingdom respectively. This means that under the same new shell, there will be a completely different platform and architecture. The gasoline version of the model will continue to evolve along BMW's technical route, based on the FAR front-drive platform.
In business, BMW is not too sure about the cost control of the development of pure electric architecture small cars, after all, it began in the Project i project in 2008, and the i3 model also abandoned the carbon fiber structure body and changed back to aluminum alloy due to cost problems. In addition, the Mercedes-Benz next door has simply handed over the smart technology platform to Geely's drumming. Therefore, the pure electric version of MINI is likely to introduce euler's underlying genes, based on the Great Wall ME platform development. Through the application of new materials (aluminum alloys, composite materials, ultra-high strength steel), cross-section optimization, integrated electric drive module and power management and other designs, coupled with the Great Wall's own nest energy blessing that has been upgraded to the 5th place in the battery industry, it can bring better cost control to pure electric MINI, and at the same time have domestic advantages to help the pure electric version take off quickly in the proportion of new MINI sales.
Comparison with models of the same brand:
The new generation of pure electric MINI front face style seems to continue the current design, and the previously slightly "awkward" body color grille trim plate seems to be harmonious on the new pure electric model. The six radar probes and front-view cameras on the front bar are very conspicuous, and it can be seen from the license plate base that this is a European version of the model. However, in the future, the global pure electric MINI will come from the Zhangjiagang factory in China. The design of the round headlights also reflects the inheritance of classic DNA, and the interior of the closed-loop daytime lamp has a double horizontal LED strip.
A closer look can find changes in the front cabin structure, unlike the mussel-type cover that has been using all-inclusive headlights and covering the wheel brow in recent generations of MINI, the new pure electric MINI has changed to a conventional structural design, and I don't know if there will be a "front load compartment". Compared with the previously captured test car student diagram and the official release spy photos, the "A-pillar angle" rearview mirror bracket was used to confuse the public, and the latest non-counterfeit version finally returned to the "flagpole" structure of the traditional style of MINI. In addition, the new MINI adopts the BMW i4 with the same semi-hidden structure door handle, the panoramic sunroof is no longer a double-piece structure, it may not have the opening function, and the shark fin antenna on the roof has also evolved.
The newly designed taillight shape may cause a lot of controversy, and the new triangular light does allow the sides of the trunk lid to confirm the sharp corner opening we had predicted before. The old is always full of controversy, of course, it is not excluded that it will be pleasing to the eye in the future. In fact, the design of the new tail lamp is still very thoughtful, and the dense LED lamp beads can still outline the "meter" element through the ribbon light body composed of different directions. In addition, COOPERS on the plate frame trim also deliberately uses a green "S" to highlight its new energy identity.
The interior of the fixed version of the vinyl record suspension screen also proves that the one-piece screen design of the previous test car is also a confusing tactic, and the new design inherits the classic design on the basis of fully following the new energy design trend. Of course, the final effect depends on whether the actual display area of the circular panel is also circular, and the width and narrowness of the border. Traditional meters are expected to disappear completely. Of course, the front look up is enough. The steering wheel adopts a rather three-dimensional spoke design, the central air conditioning outlet is also quite hidden, and the lower lever control panel retains the traditional elements and usage habits. In addition, the window electronic control buttons also return to the door interior panels, rather than the layout of the central sub-instrument panel of the test car earlier.
BG and BG (Mercedes-Benz Geely and BMW Great Wall) confrontation:
According to our prediction, the beam car joint venture between Great Wall and BMW is most likely that BMW is responsible for the body and interior design of the new MINI, while Great Wall is responsible for chassis architecture and power system development. The same strategy has been clearly applied to the joint venture between Geely and Daimler. Geely took over the SMART brand in its entirety, based on its SEA Haohan architecture platform development, and Mercedes-Benz was responsible for the design of the exterior and interior of the new car.
The first model SMART Genie #1 will take the future pure electric MINI COUNTRYMAN as the imaginary enemy, equipped with a 70kWh capacity battery, and the comprehensive endurance is at the level of 500km, which will be the largest of The Smart Motor's future domestic models. The pure electric MINI on the beam side is just the opposite, the beginning of the choice of the smallest size of the three-door model, is expected to be equipped with about 60kWh specification battery, because of the smaller curb weight, the endurance can also reach 500km. This was followed by the evolution of larger, pure electric mini-SUVs and MPVs.
Editor's Comments:
In addition to the fact that the taillight design may be topical, other changes in the new MINI are within the safety of the watch, and it is not uncommon for models in the luxury brand field to flip the "true fragrance" with brand power after the listing. The new MINI COOPER and SMART Genie #1 Even if the model style and size are completely different, but with the same pure electric setting and domestic identity, and even similar endurance performance and pricing level, it is destined to represent the beam car produced in Zhangjiagang and the smart motor car produced in Xi'an in 2022.