Concept cars usually don’t get a second glance, but the Mini Vision Urbanaut electric van does. Mini plans to unveil a revised model of the Urbanaut in July at the DLD summer conference in Munich.
The new version looks a bit more realistic than the first iteration of the Urbanaut, which was revealed in November 2020. At 176 inches long, it’s about 6 inches shorter than the Volkswagen ID.4 and other current compact electric crossovers, and probably not much shorter than the highly anticipated Microbus-inspired Volkswagen ID.
Like the ID. Buzz, the Urbanaut features a retractable windshield and an interior that can function as a living space. The interior also boasts a high proportion of renewable and recycled materials, according to a Mini press release. Designers also aimed to conserve material by using fewer parts and eliminating chrome and leather.
Mini didn’t provide many details about the powertrain, but the BMW Group has stated it will make the Mini brand fully electric by the early 2030s.
Mini is not the only one exploring the possibility of an electric van. Startup Canoo plans one, a personal use offshoot of its affordable delivery van. The chances of ever seeing the eBussy from our urban fantasies at Burning Man in the United States are slim.
Porsche also conceived an electric van concept in 2018, but the project never progressed past the design phase. The van wasn’t even shown to the public until last year when Porsche revealed a batch of concepts and unseen prototypes it had developed over the years.
