It’s a new day, and our friend (and probably the bane of every automaker), the MIIT, has inadvertently leaked another final production design. For a vehicle to become homologated in China, automakers must submit final details to MIIT (Ministry of Industry and Information Technology). These details get published periodically, and the latest victim of this regulatory step is the forthcoming Mini Aceman.
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Mini plans to go fully electric by 2030. The Aceman is part of the brand's goals to both synergize with China, but also produce compelling new small premium EVs to cater to its clientele.
The introduction of the latest Mini Cooper saw the death of the 5-door model, making the car three-door only. The Aceman sort of splits the difference between the old 5-door Mini Cooper, but its crossover stance sees it take up some of the slack from the now supersized Mini Countryman. This is the first time we are all seeing something close to production-ready. The last time we saw the Aceman was in concept form, complete with a glowing front Union Jack grille.
A final homologation picture generally isn't the most flattering image of a car, but from what we can see, the Aceman isn’t too bad. MIIT has both the standard Aceman as well as the Aceman S. The Aceman S looks slightly different than the standard model, with its rose gold trim and a green “S” badge in the front grille. As a whole, the model's chunky styling falls very much in line with what we’ve seen on the new Mini Cooper. However, the bigger wheels and matte wheel arches do make the Aceman feel far more crossover-like than the standard 5-door Mini ever did. At 160.5 inches long, the Aceman is still fairly petite.
According to Yiche Auto, the Mini Aceman will be front motor, front-wheel drive only. The car will come in outputs of either 181 horsepower (135 KW) for the standard model, or 214 horsepower (160 KW) for the Aceman S. Both models will be powered by either a 40 kWh or 54.2 kWh battery pack, for a range of up to 248 miles (400 kilometers), based on CLTC standards. There may be a JCW package coming soon, but according to the outlet’s findings, it will likely only be an appearance package.
So far, these specifications are only for the Chinese market. In China, the Aceman will be made by Great Wall Motors and will not have a gas-powered equivalent. Elsewhere, the Aceman will be made in the UK. It’s unclear if models outside of China will also be electric only.