MINI USA has announced the company has opened the application phase for the all-electric MINI E field trial. Unfortunately none of us could apply as we don’t live in the designated New York City, New Jersey or LA Metro areas. But even if we did, you’d have to be extremely lucky to be among the 500 people that MINI will hand-pick to lease the vehicle for a year. For those of you that meet the criteria and would like to participate, we must warn you that MINI says the application form is relatively long and could take at least an hour to complete. If chosen, MINI will ask you to sign a closed-end 1-year, $850 per month lease

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The first modified electric car comes from BRABUS - or at least that’s what the German firm that specialized until now on Mercedes-Benz and Smart models, supports in its press release. For its first take on an all-electric vehicle, BRABUS limited modifications to the Tesla Roaster’s interior/exterior styling and wheel/tire options.

However, the Germans did develop the so-called ’space sound generator’ system with which the occupants of the Tesla Roadsters can choose from several simulated engine sounds including that of a V8 engine, a racecar engine and two futuristic soundscapes named ‘Beam’ and ‘Warp’ - make a bet that someone will find a geeky hack? BRABUS claims that the volume of the sound depends on the momentary power output of the electric motor.

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Renault is currently working on a trio of electric cars that will be rolled out starting in 2011. The first to appear will be a four-door sedan based on the Megane. This one will debut in Israel as part of the Better Place rollout that includes a charging and battery exchange infrastructure. A battery-powered version of the Kangoo MPV will also be built. That vehicle will be used as a competitor and VIP shuttle for the 2012 London Olympic games. The Megane and Kangoo are expected to have a range of about 100-120 miles on a charge with a charge time ranging from 30 minutes to 8 hours depending on the current available from the outlet. The third car will be a dedicated EV city car. It is expected to be slightly larger than the Twingo mini but the timing of that car is unknown at this time.

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hese are the first official photos of the MINI E, an all-electric version of the MINI Cooper that will make its first public appearance at the Los Angeles Auto Show in mid-November. What’s so important about this MINI -aside from its technical specs- is that over the next year or so, BMW will produce around 500 units which will be leased to selected private and corporate customers in the U.S. states of California, New York and New Jersey, giving the Bavarian automaker the chance to evaluate the viability of a full-scale production EV. MINI said that it also considering the possibility of leasing the vehicle in Europe. The MINI Es will be built at the firm’s Oxford plant in the U.K. without engines and transmissions, then shipped to BMW’s headquarters in Munich, Germany where they will be fitted with an electric powertrain. The electric motor is powered by a lithium-ion battery that has been placed in the position of the rear seat bench - yep, it’s is a two-seater. Continued

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Proving that some unorthodox concept vehicles can make it into production if the timing is right, Citroen has made it official that it has embarked on a new project to look into the feasibility of producing an ultra-environmentally friendly vehicle based on the C-Cactus concept car that was presented at last year’s Frankfurt motorshow. The French automaker said that it is considering a range of powerplants for it Cayenne-like faced C-Cactus including a 1.0-liter petrol engine with sub 100gr/km CO2 emissions; a HYmotion2 diesel-electric hybrid consuming 2.8lt/100km (83.2mpg US / 100mpg UK) with CO2 emissions of just 78g/km or a zero emissions 100% electric model with a top speed and range of 112 km/h (70mph) and 160km (100 miles) respectively.

The C-Cactus Concept that was shown in Frankfurt was equipped with a hybrid diesel powertrain that combined a 70 HP 1.4-liter diesel engine with a 30 HP electric motor installed in the clutch housing. Apart from the hybrid drivetrain, the C-Cactus also featured a simplified design throughout, significantly reducing the number of components leading to a reduction in weight, cost, fuel consumption and the impact on the environment - sometimes less is more.

Citroen claimed then that the use of fewer parts in the 4.2-meter long C-Cactus not only drops the cost significantly, but equally importantly it results to a 15% reduction in overall weight compared to the C4 Hybrid HDi. The French automaker had announced then the particular C-Cactus hybrid could achieve an average consumption of just 3.4 lt/100 km (69.2mog US) for CO₂ emissions of 78 g/km.

If Citroen’s project gets the final green light, and from what we’ve learned, there’s a strong possibility it will, the C-Cactus will compete in Europe at least, against the Toyota Prius and its like. Continued

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Measuring in at just 3 meters in length, the Nuvu is Nissan’s vision of a future minicar powered by a zero-emissions electric drivetrain. The funky looking concept car with the 2+1 seating arrangement is more than a styling exercise though as according to Nissan officials it’s a fully working mobile test bed for much of the tech that will be used on Nissan’s forthcoming Electric-Vehicle that will be launched in 2010. Just to make it clear, the Nuvu is not that car. The concept is equipped with a rear mounted electric motor that drives the rear wheels offering the stubby minicar a driving range of 125 km or 77miles and top speed of 120 km/h or 75mph. The electric motor is powered from a set of laminated lithium-ion-type batteries mounted under the seats.

Unlike a conventional lithium-ion battery with bulky cylindrical cells, the laminated Li-Ion battery as used in Nuvu has thin laminated cells and fewer components overall. Nissan says that this boosts its power by a factor of 1.5 at the same time as halving its physical size. It also remains twice as efficient as a conventional cylindrical Li-Ion battery even after five years or 100,000 km of continuous usage.

The Japanese automaker supports that a quick charge from empty to full should take between 10 to 20 minutes while a full charge should take between three to four hours from a domestic 220V socket. Continued

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The best description we could think of for Renault’s Paris Show Z.E. concept car is a Kangoo of the not-so distant future. And truly enough, the Z.E., which by the way stands for Zero Emissions, is indeed based on the new Kangoo Be-Bop that also made its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show. The concept study utilizes the Renault-Nissan Group’s new electric drivetrain that will be massed produced in the beginning of the next decade.  More specifically, the Z.E. is equipped with a 70kW (95hp) electric motor which delivers torque of 226Nm with energy being provided by a latest generation set of lithium-ion type batteries.

Other notable features on the Z.E. Concept is include the use of heat-reflective paint and insulating bodywork that limits variations in temperature between the exterior and the interior of the car and the roof top solar panels that power a temperature regulation system. Continued

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