Revealed; Production Date of The Last ICE MINI Cooper

[DimON]

As expected, today MINI announced it’s building the new all electric MINI Cooper in Oxford starting in 2026. The move will bring production of the car to the UK alongside a heavily refreshed ICE range of MINI Coopers that will form the swan-song for the band ICE offerings. When will the last ICE MINI roll-off the assembly line? Through sources we have uncovered the exact date.

The last ICE MINI Cooper JCW

Background – The Last ICE MINI

MINI just debuted two new all electric models in the last two weeks yet they aren’t letting go of internal combustion engines (ICE) yet. In 2024 MINI will heavily revising the F56 to create the dramatically refreshed F66. Why not an entirely new model? New cars are billions to develop and MINI can’t afford two all new Coopers.

The big investment was made on the all electric version (the J01) which we now have confirmation will be made not just in China but the UK starting in 2026. But MINI still needs to serve markets where the charging infrastructure and size mean EVs aren’t a single solution yet. The answer is an unprecedented move; two next generation MINI Coopers built (initially) on opposite ends of the planet on two different platforms.

As you can tell by its codename, the F66 is an evolution of the F56 which is shared a chassis with. However MINI is refreshing the exterior design to better match the all new J01 electric MINI Cooper. That means we’ll see revised lights front and rear and even a fractionally shortened front overhang. The key theme appears to be creating design consistency with the future of the brand – the all electric J01 MINI Cooper. The goal is clearly to unify the design language across all models allowing consumers to have a choice that feels strictly about the drivetrain and nothing else.

There will be three body styles and three levels of performance. However one key options missing will be the manual transmission.

The New MINI Family	Drivetrain	Pricing	Start of Production
F66 MINI Cooper	155 HP (Petrol)	TBD	07/2024
F66 MINI Cooper S	200 HP (Petrol)	TBD	07/2024
F66 MINI Cooper JCW	231 HP (Petrol)	TBD	11/2024
F65 MINI Cooper 5 Door	ICE (Petrol)	TBD	07/2024
F65 MINI Cooper S 5 Door	200 HP (Petrol)	TBD	07/2024
F67 MINI Cooper Convertible	ICE (Petrol)	TBD	TBD
F67 MINI Cooper S Convertible	200 HP (Petrol)	TBD	TBD
F67 MINI Cooper JCW Convertible	231 HP (Petrol)	TBD	TBD

You can read much more on our extensive report on the F66 ICE MINI here.

The Exact Date of the Last ICE MINI Ever

Now that you know MINI’s plans for its last ICE generation of cars, let’s dive into when production will end. In its release about the J01 electric MINI Cooper coming to the Oxford Plant, they mentioned only electric production would be happening there by 2030. But that’s a little misleading given what we know.

The last ICE MINI Cooper is currently scheduled to roll off the assembly line in Oxford on December 31st 2030. This is the current plan that MINI has defined internally and for its large Tier 1 suppliers. So while that date may seem arbitrary, you can bet a lot of planning as already taken place to define that date.

So of you’re already thinking about wanting one of the last petrol powered, ICE MINI Coopers, you’ll want to etch 12.31.30 into your memory now.

But there is one more petrol powered MINI – in fact it was just was released. The German made U25 MINI Countryman debuted in electric form last week but will have a ICE version sold alongside of it as well. Its end of production date, perhaps unsurprisingly is identical; 12.31.30. If that holds true MINI’s switch to electric will be a rather dramatic event with the end of production for ICE models happening simultaneously in two different countries.

For more coverage of the new generation MINI released today, check out the following articles and videos.

MINI Cooper EV: Premier | MINI Cooper EV: Hands-On Review | MINI Cooper EV: Video Review

MINI Countryman EV: Premier | MINI Countryman EV: Hands-On Review | MINI Countryman EV: Video Review

New MINI Family: 1st Look Video | MINI Circular Display & MINI OS9 Hands-On Review

The post Revealed; Production Date of The Last ICE MINI Cooper first appeared on MotoringFile.

The post Revealed; Production Date of The Last ICE MINI Cooper appeared first on MotoringFile.

View the full article