A mini moto is an undoubtedly great way to get into motorcycling, but the latest news from Germany suggests that it could be Mini itself that is getting into bikes.
Yes, this would be a motorcycle by Mini, rather than a mini moto. The ownership of Mini by the BMW Group means that it has a clear path to do so.
Auto Express reports that, when it spoke to Head of Mini Stefanie Wurst in April, Wurst told them “If I have interest in our markets, this is something I would consider,” on the subject of a Mini-branded motorcycle.
Unfortunately for people who don’t like electric motorcycles, that seems to be the only scenario in which Mini makes it onto two wheels. “We have them in our family with BMW Motorrad,” Auto Express reports Wurst said. “And they're offering electric versions as well.”
BMW’s current electric bike range only includes two models, the CE 04 and smaller CE 02, both of which are scooters.
Auto Express suggests that, of those two, a Mini-branded bike would be more likely to be based, technically speaking, on the CE 02. The Mini would simply have a different, neo-retro aesthetic compared to the original BMW model.
Wurst supports this, when she tells Auto Express that Mini’s interest in motorcycles comes from the urban mobility perspective. “I think this is interesting because it's urban mobility,” Wurst said. “BMW is producing so much when it comes to mobility. If we were to do something I would look into the family first and I think this is something I find interesting.”
Mini would not be the first car maker to have its name stuck on the side of a motorcycle, of course. There’s the Aston Martin AMB 001, for example, the Lotus C-01, or last year’s Ducati Diavel for Bentley.
It seems fair to say that a Mini-branded CE 02 might not hit the same kind of exclusivity levels as either of those three, though.
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