L.A. Auto Show: Mini E gets 156 miles on a battery charge

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Evoking the 1972 Olympics may not be the best way to warm up a crowd, but BMW Chairman Norbert Reithofer nevertheless unveiled the Mini E with such a reference.

You see, an electric BMW drove alongside runners in that Olympic marathon (won by German-born U.S. runner Frank Shorter) -- an early start, Reithofer said, to the engineering of today’s electric Mini.

The electric Mini, which shares the Cooper body, requires about two hours to charge its battery. It will be leased to 500 customers in Los Angeles and New York City. Lease terms and applications are on the Mini website.

The car will do zero to 60 in about 8.5 seconds and has a 95-mph top speed.

-- Peter Y. Hong

For more photos of production cars from the show, click here.