Earlier this week, Mini teased a major announcement coming in October over social media. The image claims what they are announcing will be thrilling. And the word “thrilling” is spelled out in a bigger font and all caps with underlining, in case you were underestimating the level of thrill awaiting you. The question is what Mini plans to thrill us with. The answer, alas, is probably not a production version of the Rocketman concept.
We know — from reports at least — that Mini plans to go electric by 2030. But plans have Mini debuting new gasoline vehicles through 2025. So the thrilling announcement need not be about an electric car.
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The front of the vehicle looks like a Mini hardtop. And the raccoon eyes and grille goatee from the recent facelift suggest the car is this generation Mini hardtop. But the headlights are on with beams pointing forward, which could indicate that the tease is for something new and out of camera shot.
One legitimately thrilling possibility would be a John Cooper Works hot hatch version of the Mini Electric. Mini did note last December that they were working on ideas to take their peppy, high-performance sub-brand electric. But Evo suspects that an electric JCW Mini would have to come on a future platform. And if Mini were working on what would amount to a BMW-powered electric hot hatch, one would think the teaser would lean into that more with some flared wheel arches or something hinting at electric propulsion.
If we had to guess at this stage, the thrilling announcement might be another not-quite-so-thrilling special edition of the Mini hardtop.