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2020 Mini E caught in the Alps with concept looks

The upcoming full-electric 2020 Mini E hatchback has been spotted in the wild, specifically the Alps. One of our spy photographers caught it while recharging. Fans of the concept shown at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show will be pleased to see that this more production-ready car takes many cues from the show car. Unsurprisingly, the car does look pretty much the same as the standard Mini Hardtop. It has the round lights, broad grille section and upright Mini body. Differences show up first with the grille. Most of it is solid, which is understandable since an electric car typically doesn't need the amount of airflow an internal combustion car needs. There is a strip in the middle that is open, evident by circular cutouts. This is also a design that was featured on the concept, in which the two halves of the grille were solid, with an open slot dividing them. The rest of the bumper appears to be the same one used on the standard Mini Cooper Hardtop. The sides of the car also seem to be identical to the normal Minis, but the wheels are unique to this electric iteration. They're cool four-spoke alloys that have aren't completely symmetrical. Three of the spokes are open and finished, but one has some additional metal, and it seems to connect with the center section where the lug nuts are. There will probably be a cover that goes over these sections. The overall look is directly taken from the Frankfurt concept. At the back, the electric Mini still looks like a Mini, but with no provisions for an exhaust pipe. It also uses taillights from the pre-refresh model, but with some neat hexagonal texture on the lens. These will probably be replaced by the new Union Jack taillights, though. The interior continues the current Mini looks. The seats do have an interesting upholstery. It looks a bit like a gray denim. This production Mini E Hardtop should arrive sometime next year, in keeping with BMW's promise made with the concept car's reveal. Specs are unknown, but we hope it will be comparable in power with the original Mini E introduced for the 2009 model year. That car had an impressive 204 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque. Hopefully the new model will also improve on the old car's range, which was about 150 miles according to BMW. Related Video:

Mini headed to North Pole to meet Santa Claus

It seems that retailers are bringing out the Christmas decorations earlier each year, but Mini's premature holiday spirit could be one for the record books. The day after Black Friday, the "Mini Goes to Santa Claus" adventure will depart from BMW headquarters in Munich, Germany and head up Rovaniemi, Finland (just outside the Arctic Circle) to deliver Christmas letters to Santa Claus -he must have an mail outpost here for his North Pole workshop. Guinness World Records is also getting involved with this trek, by competing for a for the longest-ever wish list to Santa.
Mini has assembled teams of vehicles from 16 countries consisting of all of its current models to drive the almost 1,900 miles. Although it won't be a part of the convoy, the Mini Paceman will be in Rovaniemi to welcome the groups along with former rally driver Rauno Aaltonen who will "demonstrate his unequalled talent" while driving the Paceman. We're not exactly sure what this means, but snowy climates and rally drivers always seem to be a recipe for great entertainment to us.
Scroll down for Mini's press release, but we'll have to wait until later in the month to see what should be some pretty cool pictures of the trip.

Mini will launch two additional crossovers to expand its footprint

Mini will maximize its global potential by releasing two crossovers during the 2020s, according to a recent report. The first will bolster the firm's electrification efforts, while the second will be positioned at the top of its range. The BMW-owned company's vast heritage makes expanding its presence in the crossover segment a tricky proposition, but executives believe they've blazed a way forward. The Countryman's first high-riding sibling will be an electric model developed jointly by Mini and China-based Great Wall Motors and built in the latter's home country. BMW announced the joint venture in late 2019, though it didn't specify which vehicle(s) it would build. Autocar learned the model, which could resurrect the Paceman nameplate, will be about as big as the current-generation X1, meaning it will slot slightly above the Countryman (pictured) in terms of size. It will arrive as a four-door soft-roader built on a platform developed through the joint venture, and it will benefit from a new generation of batteries manufactured without cobalt, an element mined in often-difficult conditions. Mini will dig even deeper into its past to name the second crossover it's working on. Executives favor the Traveller nameplate, which was introduced in 1960 on a Morris-badged version of the Austin Mini Countryman wagon. The model will inevitably become the poster child of the company's ongoing un-Minization process, but it should play a significant role in turning around its fortunes in key markets like the United States and China.  "The Countryman is a small SUV. In the United States and China, there are certain needs. We will look at a compact SUV in the next generation. There are lots of benefits with a car like that for urban use. For me, it's a good match," said Bernd Korber, the company's boss, in an interview with the magazine. Upsizing Mini's image will require borrowing the CLAR architecture currently found under BMW's X3, X4, X5, X6, and X7, though don't expect a jumbo-sized people-hauler masquerading as a city car. "We can stretch the interpretation of Mini always being the smallest, but I can't imagine being bigger in a segment. We need to fulfill a requirement on size," Korber stressed. It sounds like, size-wise, the Traveller may fall between the X1 and the X3. BMW's CLAR platform will make the Traveller the first Mini equipped with a longitudinally-mounted engine, and its first rear-wheel drive production car.