British company specializes at ready-to-install electric kits. The classic Mini Cooper is drawing special attention for keeping the original weight in the original distribution
- Fellten has released a new electromod project: it is based on the classic Mini Cooper
- British and Australian company specializes in creating bolt-on kits for classic vehicles
- The Mini electric keeps the weight distribution and, as a results, its dynamic behavior
Electric cars are on the rise, we must stop using fossil fuels, pollution must come down, everyone knows all that. And most of us actually want to collaborate. However, there are practical issues to consider.
Among the main ones, we can mention high purchase cost, range anxiety, complex repairs, and small grid of charging stations. Sadly, those are only the external ones; we can add issues with the cars themselves.
Though the industry is evolving as fast as it can, the electric powertrain still implies high weight and some visual solutions of questionable taste. In short, there are differences that may be too hard to just accept.
We are going to see that Fellten is working precisely on that. The electric Mini Cooper we saw above is its latest project, released a few weeks ago. It has enough qualities to become a reference among its peers.
Electric cars today
I like to summarize that situation by saying that EVs demand too many concessions from their owners. In practice, they need to accept too many undesirable features so as to effectively obtain their advantages.
The most intuitive example is design. It is just hard for S-Class buyers to embrace electrification when the equivalent is the EQS. It differs so much that, at first, it was difficult to believe it was a Mercedes-Benz car.
With this and those other examples, electric cars end up requiring too much effort from people. And none of us wants to make excessive effort. In fact, the very decision to own a car is meant to reduce our effort.
Things are even worse among car fans because they add an emotional component. The cars they love are now obsolete and making room for something entirely different. Can you see where we are going here?
Fellten to the rescue
This company was born from the merger of Zero EV and Jaunt Motors, respectively British and Australian. The new name is Welsh for “lightning” and represents a new era where its prospects are simply brilliant.
According to its website, Fellten used to work on one-off electric conversions. That means each car had a specific project developed from scratch. While that work is impressive, it had limited potential for growth.
The recent rise of electrification made the company shift its focus. It now builds electric systems and ships them ready to install. Then, one of its authorized workshops installs the system in the end customer’s car.
That change is important for two reasons. One is that it streamlines the whole process: Fellten can use its facilities to ramp up production, thus accepting more orders at once. The other we are going to see next.
Mini Cooper, Now Electric
Fellten has built a universal battery pack for its projects. Here, it comes in a bundle with the electric motor and the other necessary parts. The kit even comes in its own BMH subframe, totally ready to be installed.
In other words, the electric kit requires minimum work from the installer. As Fellten suggests on its page, that company can spare more time perfectioning its own part of the work instead of testing the system.
This electric kit is compatible with the Classic Mini Cooper, that is, the tiny hatchback produced by British Motor Company (BMC). For now, Fellten only accepts Mark V and Mark VI cars, built from 1984 to 1996.
The new powertrain generates 96 hp of power and 128 lb-ft of torque. Not exactly huge figures, but they have less than 700 kg to carry. “Oh, but electric powertrain adds a lot of weight”… Keep reading, please.
Classic Mini, Now Renewed
Fellten built an electric kit that does not change the original weight nor its distribution between the axles. Besides that, it is a “bolt-in” package, which means it comes ready for installation on the original chassis.
In practice, that all means the classic Mini undergoes minimal changes. You can keep its appearance as it is, and it will be as usable as always. There will be no space reduction because of batteries, for example.
The only differences are dynamic, but they are all positive. “Gone is the petrol smell and that annoying manual choke. In comes the silent, torque-filled drive (but still with a small amount of gearbox whine).”
Fellten concludes its pitch by stating that the electric Mini keeps the original handling while adding much quicker throttle response. In other words, the electric conversion makes it only better, not a different car.
The impact of the electric Mini
Fellten has authorized installation centers in Australia, the UK, and the US. That means it has opened itself to a large potential demand. It also provides support for companies building a fleet of classic Mini cars.
The converted car alone deserves a beautiful reception. In essence, drivers will trade in engine noise for a quicker throttle response and nothing else. This is not a tuning project; consistency is the goal to pursue.
In addition to that, Fellten has imbued its project with design and infrastructure to eliminate many usual problems. The result is hard to resist even if you were not interested in this conversion in the first place.
The company has a similar conversion kit for the Porsche 911 (964 generation) and the Land Rover Series 3, 2A, and Defender. The Mini’s is more impressive, though, because it had stricter standards to preserve.
Initiatives like that solve problems without adding others. It is as simple as that. While we know that this is definitely not easy to accomplish, we also have to admit that many companies do not even try to do that.
Fellten’s electric Mini is a step towards normalizing electric cars. Making them perform their function and just that, without any fancy or futuristic biases. Would you consider an electric kit like that for your car?
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Fellten’s electric Mini Cooper is a project that falls under the category of electromod. It has become quite popular over the past few years, even among car enthusiasts!
Danillo Almeida has explored his passion for cars in two distinct ways. The first one is his graduation course in Mechanical Engineering, which will hopefully lead to a job position in the field. The other one is expressing his knowledge and opinions on the matter through writing. Almeida has already contributed to blogs, stores, and websites in general writing automotive content in many formats.
