A new Moke for the electric woke
The classic Mini Moke is to be reborn as an electric vehicle. At least that’s the plan for 2021.
In the meantime Moke International has relaunched the classic 1960s funster with a 1083-cc four-cylinder engine sourced from Chery in China. It musters 68 hp, which can propel the little car to a breezy 68 mph and is offered with a choice of automatic or manual transmission.
The Moke’s suspension is updated to independent MacPherson struts at the front and trailing arms at the rear, fitted with coil springs instead of the original’s hydrolastic system. Brakes are discs for the front wheels and drums for the rear. Power steering is a luxury that will make original Moke owners very jealous.
The bare-bones utilitarian design is essentially unchanged from the car that gained a global cult following—and several reboots—after it was first introduced in 1962. For safety reasons there’s a rollcage, but you won’t find windows or doors. Inside there are four waterproof seats and a single-speaker stereo. Weatherproofing comes in the form of a tent-like structure that appears to cover the whole car, promptly mist up, and cause much cursing.
It’s hardly surprising then that the new Mokes have become popular in the Caribbean and the South of France, where hotels use them as courtesy cars and rental firms hire them out to fun-and-sun-seeking tourists.
Moke International has just launched the car in the U.K. in a range of 13 bright colors from Barts Blue to Flamingo Pink, with prices starting at £20,000 ($26,000). A U.S. launch is scheduled for mid-2021.
The Moke has been electrified and on-sale as a Low-Speed Vehicle in the U.S.A. since 2016, and the company says it is “committed to sustainable mobility and full speed, electric Mokes are just around the corner.”
