Does Slate’s “Truck” Channel the 1959 Mini (And Could MINI Learn from it)?

[DimON]

Sometimes the best tech is no tech. The best user interface? No interface at all. And sometimes the biggest disruption in a bloated market comes not from more features, but from asking: why are we doing all of this in the first place? That’s the question Slate is posing with its new electric “Truck.” Yes, it’s simply called Truck. And in many ways, it feels like one of the most genuinely Mini-like vehicle we’ve seen since, well, the 1959 Mini itself.

Left – The Truck as it leaves the factory. To the right are some of the countless ways you can modify it – DIY or via a dealer

Radical Simplicity, Meet EV

There are a lot of unknowns about any EV start-up and slate falls into that category. But what they’re doing is unlike anything we’ve seen. Where most EV startups compete on bigger screens, longer range, and increasingly ridiculous horsepower numbers, Slate zagged hard.

The Slate Truck is a radically simple electric utility vehicle designed to rethink what we actually need in a modern vehicle. Priced under $20,000 after incentives, it features rugged, unpainted injection-molded plastic panels, a minimalist two-seat interior with no built-in stereo or touchscreen, and a practical 150-mile range. Almost any accessory you can think of will be available and open-sourced, with Slate publishing dimensions and specifications to allow anyone — individuals or companies — to 3D print or manufacture nearly any part.

Built for easy DIY customization and maintenance, it skips traditional manufacturing complexity in favor of affordability, durability, and essentialism — offering a refreshing critique of the excess and tech bloat that dominate today’s automotive world.

You want music? You can order yours with speakers or mount your own.

Need navigation? There’s a slot for your phone or tablet.

Custom wrap job or accessories? DIY encouraged and even open-sourced.

Manufacturing? Skip the expensive paint shops and stampings altogether — the body is rugged, unpainted polypropylene composite, meant to shrug off wear like a shark’s skin. It’s also easy to make with far less environmental impact.

The SUV kit will turn any Slate Truck into a boxy crossover.

Sounds Familiar, Doesn’t It?

Go back to 1959: Alec Issigonis designed the original Mini to solve a simple problem. Its engineering and design ingenuity wasn’t aimed at impressing car enthusiasts. It was created to solve problems for hard working Brits who needed affordable, efficient family transportation. But rethinking everything, Mini engineers created a new kind of car that transcended class, culture, and even generations.

Slate’s “Truck” channels that same spirit — design born from constraint, simplicity as innovation, and usability over unnecessary complexity.

The SUV kit is available as a square, fastback or no top at all.

A Truck that Turns into a Crossover

One of the Slate Truck’s most clever features is its ability to transform into a crossover after purchase. Thanks to a modular design, owners can opt for an SUV upgrade kit that adds a second row of seating and an extended-range battery. The kit is designed to be easily installed, either by the owner or a local service partner, turning the basic two-seat utility truck into a more versatile, family-friendly electric crossover — without the need to buy an entirely new vehicle.

Should MINI have taken this approach with its next generation of EVs?

Because let’s be honest: MINI’s current electric crossovers, while stylish and fun, lean heavily into premium positioning, complex tech, and feature lists that would make an old-school Mini chuckle. In the context of the modern automobile, we think they’re some of the best on the market. But it’s hard not to think of the big screens, heavy curb weights, luxury appointments as excess the you look at what Slate has done.

What If MINI Had Gone Full Slate?

Imagine if MINI’s first true electric crossover wasn’t chasing BMW X1 levels of comfort and gadgetry, but instead asked the fundamental Slate-style questions:

• How small, light, and simple can we make this?
• How much can we leave out rather than cram in?
• How can we turn minimalism into a brand superpower?

Instead of touchscreen battles and over-engineered interiors, MINI could have leaned into modularity, DIY customization, and radical user-driven simplicity.

Instead of $50,000 builds, maybe we’d see a sub-$30K, pure-driving, nearly indestructible urban EV — a true spiritual successor to the Mini ethos.

Slate isn’t for everyone, and to be fair, neither was the original Mini at first.

But Slate’s “Truck” feels like a shot across the bow of an industry that sometimes confuses complexity with progress. It’s a Trojan horse for a new kind of utilitarian minimalism — one that MINI has championed for years. But clear not as boldly as Slate now does.

What if the future of MINI isn’t in the technology it adds, but in the complexity it dares to remove. And what if the next big innovation in motoring will come from thinking smaller, not bigger. Just like it did in 1959.

The post Does Slate’s “Truck” Channel the 1959 Mini (And Could MINI Learn from it)? appeared first on MotoringFile.

View the full article