The J01 is the electric MINI Cooper, from 2024, and despite the family resemblance it is not a converted combustion car. It sits on a dedicated electric platform and is built at Spotlight Automotive in China, a joint venture between BMW and Great Wall Motor. The combustion Cooper, the F66, carries on at Oxford.
On this model that is the fact that decides everything. The J01 and F66 look near-identical but come from different plants and different platforms: underbody, cooling, front structure and much of the electrical system are not shared. The resemblance is deliberate; the interchangeability is not.
Inside sits the round OLED display that organises the whole cabin: no instrument binnacle, no conventional dials, climate control by touch with a row of toggle switches beneath.
With two models this alike we record the model code as the car comes apart, so it never becomes guesswork.
