London Design Festival 2010: this electric scooter (above) is one of three concept scooters unveiled by car brand
MINI in London yesterday.
The Scooter E Concept includes three designs for electric scooters: a
double seat in racing green and leather (top), a more sporty version
with a single-seat (below) and a third with styling inspired by popular
culture in the 1960s.
The first two are also to be shown in Paris next week.
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Photographs are by Ansgar Werrelmann.
Here are some more details from MINI:
Iconic British brand MINI unveiled its exciting MINI Scooter E
Concept today in London at an exclusive event at the The Vinyl Factory
in London. The MINI Scooter E Concept comes almost ten years to the day
since the new MINI was first shown at the Paris Motor Show.
The scooter designs were dramatically revealed by Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design who said:
“The MINI Scooter E Concept represents an electric vision of the
future as urban mobility takes a new direction by MINI. We are
delighted to debut during the London Design Festival and pay homage to
our British heritage while also marking a new era for MINI. The MINI
Scooter E Concept is true to our brand values of distinctive design,
intelligent functionality and customisation and builds further on these
characteristics by combining driving pleasure with sustainable
technology into the first two-wheel concept of its kind for MINI.”
There are a total of three interpretations of the MINI Scooter E
Concept conceived by Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW
Group Design: two of which will be shown at the Paris Motor Show next
week, while the third concept is being shown exclusively in London. The
first MINI Scooter E Concept is a two-seater variant developed for ‘the
fun of driving for two’. The second concept is a single-seater and the
sportiest of the new concepts. The third and more design-progressive
model – being shown exclusively in London – takes inspiration from the
popular culture of the 1960s, a decade synonymous with the classic Mini,
drawing on the distinctive graphics of the Mod era in particular.
It’s not just a two-wheeler in MINI Design – this scooter meets the
needs of the young urban generation: Spontaneous, flexible, CO2-free
mobility. Using a smart phone as the ignition key, the concept
integrates infotainment, communication and navigation systems. The MINI
Scooter E Concept is powered by an electric motor which can be
recharged at any conventional power socket using an on-board charging
cable.
The new scooter design concept is based on current production
vehicles but pushes the creative boundaries. Just as the compact design
of the classic MINI, born out of the 1950s oil crisis, symbolised a new
reality for modern city driving, the MINI Scooter E Concept is designed
for the changing landscape in environmental and urban road traffic
conditions, to offer a stylish and emission-free alternative for urban
mobility. Set to appeal to a young, ecologically-conscious driver, the
MINI E Scooter Concept offers a completely new perspective on the
distinctive MINI driving experience while being immediately recognisable
as a MINI.
This new design study represents the MINI design team’s unparalleled
expertise in recognising the challenges for mobility in major urban
areas, and meeting these challenges with the development of stylish,
innovative and sustainable future-focused vehicle concepts.
from dezeen
