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The incoming 2024 Mini Cooper Electric will be built in China, and new images reveal its futuristic interior layout.
British car-maker Mini has drip-fed more images of its upcoming 2024 Mini Cooper Electric – to be built in China – this time revealing a futuristic dashboard design.
The new Mini was originally scheduled to be unveiled in late 2023, however the brand has already begun showing a series of teaser images. This latest batch is less of a teaser and shows more the interior.
As previously reported, the new three-door Mini hatch – which is now known as the Cooper – will be available in two versions: a petrol-powered, UK-built model built on similar underpinnings to its predecessor, and a new Chinese-built electric option built on a dedicated electric platform shared with China’s Great Wall Motors and the GWM Ora.
The new design represents a major overhaul compared to the outgoing model. Most prominent is the much larger, central-mounted information display, while the remainder of the dash presents a minimalist layout.
Below the centre screen is a series of toggle switches which include a start/stop button, hazard light switch, defroster, and a drive mode selector. Other controls are shown on the steering wheel, but the images reveal no rotary dial controller, which traditionally controls the Mini infotainment system. The steering wheel appears to be smaller and sportier than before with thick hand-grips.
The images show the central infotainment screen with battery capacity, phone connectivity, climate control functions, a power gauge, and navigation data. While the Mini’s central display is by far the most dominant, there’s also a pop-up head-up display in front of the driver for vital information such as speed and directions.
The prominent, rounded-off dashboard integrates a horizontal air vent, but more importantly the dash covering is animated with coloured ambient lighting. This lighting array can change in unison as the vehicle’s “Experience Mode” does, according to UK publication Autocar.
The images don’t show the full extent of the centre console arrangement, though two USB-C ports light up next to a pair of cupholders.
The petrol-engined version won’t be built on the same, brand-new electric vehicle platform developed with Great Wall Motors, instead incorporating design direction from this all-new Cooper Electric version.
More details about the next-generation Mini Cooper line-up are expected before the end of this year, ahead of 2024 showroom arrivaals.
As part of the Drive content team, Tom covers automotive news, car reviews, advice, and holds a special interest in long-form feature stories.
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