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Recently updated on November 7, 2022 at 11:14 am
The British designer has converted a classic Mini from the MINI Paul Smith Edition from 1998 and reinvented the classic in the process. The tailor-made vehicle is also part of the MINI Recharged project, which combines tradition with pioneering technology by installing an electric motor for the original. In June 2022, the fashion legend's unique piece will celebrate its world premiere at the Salone del Mobile 2022 in Milan.
MINI Recharged by Paul Smith
Top class upcycling: A legendary classic is transformed into a newly designed and modernized electric vehicle for emission-free driving fun in the future. The creative mind behind it is the British designer Sir Paul Smith, who has long been familiar to fans of the British cult brand. At the Salone del Mobile 2022 in Milan, the presentation of this sustainable project provided the right stage for Paul Smith and Oliver Heilmer, Head of MINI Design, to discuss sustainable approaches in automotive design. Just last summer, Paul Smith presented the MINI STRIP at the IAA in Munich: a radically reduced, sustainable concept car. Paul Smith's MINI Recharged model now revisits this idea of sustainable design. "Three things describe this car perfectly: quality, sustainability and functionality," explains the designer himself.
"This vehicle also respects the past," he adds. With this one-of-a-kind car, Paul Smith is taking up an even older project that has linked him to MINI for over 20 years: in 1998 he created the MINI Paul Smith Edition, limited to 1.800 vehicles. The prototype of this unique edition was painted a bright blue like Paul Smith's shirt. The new one-off retains that distinctive, memorable hue. With the lime-green battery box, the designer has brought another color from the 90s into the present and continues to set exciting new accents. But with all the redesign, the original vehicle concept remains the central guideline.
in response to the 1959 oil crisis
The project is also about respect for what already exists - for the iconic work that Sir Alec Issigonis, creator of the first Mini, once accomplished. "When you move into your old aunt's flat, you don't do everything new out of respect, but you do make a few modernizations," explains Sir Paul Smith. Sir Alec Issigonis developed the classic Mini as a response to the oil crisis of 1959. Minimum consumption, maximum use of space – that was the idea that convinced millions of people over the decades and is still partly responsible for MINI's success today.
In the interior of the newly designed vehicle, Paul Smith continues his radically reduced and sustainable MINI Strip concept. By deliberately avoiding any trim parts, the body-in-white with the bare, uncovered floor panel dominates the interior, with rustic floor mats made of recycled rubber on top. In addition to innovative, resource-saving materials, Paul Smith's design saves entire instruments in other areas: a magnet next to the steering wheel holds the smartphone, which, apart from the speedometer, replaces almost all the old buttons and functions on the dashboard. At least as innovative and with a wink, Paul Smith handles the steering wheel in his exclusive model - it is completely removable and simplifies entry.
Installation of a 72-kilowatt electric motor
"We made a 90s car totally relevant for today," sums up the designer. And proudly continues: “Ideas are never the problem, you can find them everywhere. The challenge is to implement them. It worked here, a dream has come true,” says Sir Paul Smith. The engineers at "Recharged Heritage Limited" are also responsible for making this dream come true. As a new MINI partner, they have transformed the classic Mini into an emission-free vehicle by installing a 72-kilowatt electric motor.
The traditional British brand already offers locally emission-free driving fun with the fully electric MINI Cooper SE and the MINI Cooper SE Countryman with plug-in hybrid drive and is on the way to a fully electric future. For the presentation of the unique design at the Salone del Mobile 2022 in Milan, the Paul Smith showroom will be designed in the striking colors of the MINI Recharged by Paul Smith. During the Salone del Mobile, visitors have the opportunity to experience the newly designed model and the MINI STRIP live there. More details about the MINI Recharged project and the new partner, Recharged Heritage Limited, will be announced shortly.
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MINI Recharged by Paul Smith: sustainable reinvention of an icon
Tuning by RechargedHeritage / Picture credits: BMW
