Images of a redesigned 2023 Mini Cooper S electric hatch have been leaked, eliciting mixed reactions from the automotive fan community.
Posted on photographic social media channel Instagram by Wilco Blok, who shares new vehicle designs to fans, the images of the all-electric three-door reportedly hail from China and show a fresh new look both at the front and the back.
On the front, the same instantly recognizable circular headlamps remain, although there is a horizontal bar atop and below the lamps instead of a smaller iris-like oval.
Additionally, the front grille area has been redesigned.
Instead of two separate air intakes with one above the logo on the bonnet and another below a silver closed “grille” that emulated the original 1950s two-door Mini design, both air intakes are encapsulated in an area below the bonnet with the number plate in between (see image above compared to the 2021 Mini below).
Gone are the iconic Union Jack lights at the back; instead, triangular lamps consisting of an LED matrix form the edge of the rear body piece. However, as one bright spark pointed out in the post, the Union Jack design may still be visible once the lights are turned on.
Interestingly, camouflaged vehicles have had circular light stickers added over the new lamps to hide the new look rear lights.
A wider back hatch handle area also gives the new Mini an updated presence at the rear, with the name “Cooper S” clearly emblazoned in the handle insert.
Inside, there is also a drastically redesigned dashboard. While the circular interface theme remains, instead of having a rectangular touchscreen embedded in the centre of knobs and dials and a circular neon light, the new 2023 Mini Cooper S has a minimal circular control screen and a separate cluster of switches below.
The dashboard in general is also a much simpler design, hinting that Mini is moving towards reducing assembly costs.
Not everyone who saw the post – one of Wilco Blok’s most commented posts in recent weeks – was particularly pleased by the new look Mini Cooper S, however – in particular the new rear lights and hatch.
“What have they done to the back?!? Those rear lights were one of the biggest and most iconic design features of Mini’s,” said one.Â
“They ruined the whole car,” said another.
But others were impressed by the move towards a minimal, cluster-free design.
“I love the round center display!!!!” said one.
“It looks awesome, I‘m very pleasantly surprised!” said another.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.