London Design Festival 2010: this electric scooter (above) is one of three concept scooters unveiled by car brand MINI in London yesterday.  

The Scooter E Concept includes three designs for electric scooters: a double seat in racing green and leather (top), a more sporty version with a single-seat (below) and a third with styling inspired by popular culture in the 1960s.

The first two are also to be shown in Paris next week.

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Photographs are by Ansgar Werrelmann.

Here are some more details from MINI:

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Iconic British brand MINI unveiled its exciting MINI Scooter E Concept today in London at an exclusive event at the The Vinyl Factory in London. The MINI Scooter E Concept comes almost ten years to the day since the new MINI was first shown at the Paris Motor Show.

 

The scooter designs were dramatically revealed by Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design who said:

“The MINI Scooter E Concept represents an electric vision of the future as urban mobility takes a new direction by MINI. We are delighted to debut during the London Design Festival and pay homage to our British heritage while also marking a new era for MINI. The MINI Scooter E Concept is true to our brand values of distinctive design, intelligent functionality and customisation and builds further on these characteristics by combining driving pleasure with sustainable technology into the first two-wheel concept of its kind for MINI.”

There are a total of three interpretations of the MINI Scooter E Concept conceived by Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design: two of which will be shown at the Paris Motor Show next week, while the third concept is being shown exclusively in London. The first MINI Scooter E Concept is a two-seater variant developed for ‘the fun of driving for two’. The second concept is a single-seater and the sportiest of the new concepts. The third and more design-progressive model – being shown exclusively in London – takes inspiration from the popular culture of the 1960s, a decade synonymous with the classic Mini, drawing on the distinctive graphics of the Mod era in particular.

It’s not just a two-wheeler in MINI Design – this scooter meets the needs of the young urban generation: Spontaneous, flexible, CO2-free mobility. Using a smart phone as the ignition key, the concept integrates infotainment, communication and navigation systems. The MINI Scooter E Concept is powered by an electric motor which can be recharged at any conventional power socket using an on-board charging cable.

The new scooter design concept is based on current production vehicles but pushes the creative boundaries. Just as the compact design of the classic MINI, born out of the 1950s oil crisis, symbolised a new reality for modern city driving, the MINI Scooter E Concept is designed for the changing landscape in environmental and urban road traffic conditions, to offer a stylish and emission-free alternative for urban mobility. Set to appeal to a young, ecologically-conscious driver, the MINI E Scooter Concept offers a completely new perspective on the distinctive MINI driving experience while being immediately recognisable as a MINI.

This new design study represents the MINI design team’s unparalleled expertise in recognising the challenges for mobility in major urban areas, and meeting these challenges with the development of stylish, innovative and sustainable future-focused vehicle concepts.