- Inspired by John Cooper Works

- Will debut in Rome on 10 April

Mini Design along with BMW Motorsport, the FIA and the Formula E has taken the wraps off the all-new Mini Electric Pacesetter. Set to be the Safety Car at the upcoming 2021 FIA Formula E race event in Rome, the Pacesetter aims to connect the British carmaker’s electrified future with the rich racing history of John Cooper Works.

This is the first outing of JCW with the recently-revealed Mini Electric. In this Safety Car avatar, the focus of the Pacesetter was to showcase the flamboyant styling that can go with the zero-emission Mini along with weight-saving measures that can hint at future hot Mini EVs.

Hard to miss features on the Pacesetter are the grey-orange paint job, massive roof-mounted rear wind, aggressive air-dams upfront, flared wheel arches and ostentatious 18-inch orange-finished alloy wheels.

Weight saving is attained by ditching rear seats, infotainment system and even internal door handles. There’s extensive use of carbon fibre all over the place along with a full roll-cage and six-point seat harness for safety. In total, 130kg is shaved off compared to the standard Electric Mini resulting in the 0-100kmph time coming down to 6.7 seconds from 7.3 seconds.

Other changes under the skin include adjustable three-setting racing coil-over suspension, a 10mm wider track width, four-piston brake callipers,and the 18-inch Michelin Pilot Sport all-weather tyres which are used on all the Formula E cars.

Driven by Formula E safety car driver Bruno Correia, the Mini Electric Pacesetter will make its track debut on 10 April at the 2021 Formula E race weekend in Rome. It is likely to replace the BMW i8 in the Safety Car duties from this season.