Sometimes it seems like Europe gets all the fun stuff first.
Previously EV Rider told you about the MG Cyberster EV sports car, along with the Ford Capri and Explorer EVs that aren’t coming to the U.S.
Now it’s MINI’s turn. This week MINI unveiled its all-new John Cooper Works Electric line of EVs that won’t be coming to the U.S. for at least a few years.
MINI is showing off its John Cooper Works 2-door hatchback and Aceman. The Aceman is a compact 4-door hatch that is another EV the U.S. won’t be seeing anytime soon, although both are expected to arrive in European showrooms in March 2025.
The John Cooper Works adds a boost button that provides an extra 27 horsepower for short bursts of acceleration. Boost buttons are becoming somewhat common among high performance EVs. For example, EV Rider’s 2023 Kia EV6 GT test car also came with a boost button.
MINI says the John Cooper Works can scoot from zero to 62 miles per hour in 5.9 seconds. It also has JCW-specific suspension tuning to up the thrill factor in the turns.
Black side skirts, aero blades and few other tweaks make sure the MINI faithful know this one is a John Cooper Works.
For the MINI faithful that say, “it ain’t a JCW without a manual,” those days are over, regardless of whether you want gas or electric.
MINI has dropped the manual for 2025.
Right now the MINI 2-door hatchback Cooper SE EV is being made in China, which means we won’t see it for a while in the states since Chinese imports face a 100% tariff. But, MINI does plan to retool the Oxford, England plan to be able to build EVs again, beginning as early as 2026. At that point it is expected that the Cooper SE EV will return to the states.
Given we do expect the latest generation of Cooper 2-door hardtop EVs to eventually make it statewide, there’s hope we’ll see the John Cooper Works trim eventually make it over as well.
The next question is whether we’ll see an EV version of the Cooper convertible. The answer is: probably.
Sources tell MotoringFile.com that it’s looking like an EV Cooper convertible will be built at Oxford in 2026 and speculates it would be imported to the U.S.
Motoring File has a pretty good track record with its sources. It makes sense that MINI would want to continue its tradition of building convertibles as it moves toward becoming an all-electric brand.
If you can’t wait that long, MINI does have another EV option that’s available right now. Here’s a road test of the 2025 MINI Countryman SE ALL4 EV.
Additional John Cooper Works EV photos
