British icons Paul Smith and MINI go way back, with the designer working with the marque to create the MINI Paul Smith Edition in 1998. Limited to just 1800 vehicles, the prototype of this limited edition model was painted a vivid blue hue, based on a swatch taken from one of Paul Smith’s favourite shirts. Now the duo have come together again to create an electrified version of the decades-old classic, aptly termed the Paul Smith MINI Recharged.
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“Three things describe this car perfectly: quality, sustainability and functionality,” designer Paul Smith said of the car. Presented at the Salone Del Mobile 2022 in Milan, the Paul Smith MINI Recharged represents an exploration of the possibilities of sustainable design.
Respecting the past while looking towards the future, the Paul Smith MINI Recharged retains the same blue hue of the 1998 collaboration, teaming it with a lime green battery box. Despite the gutting of the original petrol engine, the ethos of the car remains. “When you move into your old aunt’s flat, out of respect you don’t change everything, but you do some modernising,” Smith said of the electrified MINI. The first classic MINI was created by Sir Alec Issigonis in response to the oil crisis of 1959, designed with minimum fuel consumption and maximum use of space in mind.
At its core, the Paul Smith MINI Recharged is based on the same ethos as Sir Alex Issigonis’ original MINI. However, in physicality, it works off the MINI Strip, a highly pared-back concept car created by Paul Smith and MINI last year. While from the outside, the Paul Smith MINI Recharged is unmistakably a MINI, the reduced and sustainable concept is evident within.
Trim parts are forgone, with the bodyshell left exposed. The floor pan is left unclad, adorned with nothing but floor mats crafted from recycled rubber. A magnet next to the steering wheel accommodates a smartphone, while the dashboard houses nothing but the speedometer.
“We have made a 1990s car totally relevant for today,” said Smith of the emission-free vehicle powered by a 72-kilowatt electric motor. “Ideas are never the problem, you can find them everywhere. The challenge is to implement them. Here it worked. A dream has come true.”
Words by Theo Rosen
