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Off-yellow is the new green: Mini will lease 500 electric vehicles to Americans on the coasts.

Mini has recently touted its 'carfun' footprint in its ads. Now, in an effort to reduce itscarbon footprint, the company is building a fleet of approximately 500 plug-in electric vehicles that will be made available to select companies and individuals in California, New York, and New Jersey by early 2009.

The heart of the vehicle is its lithium-ion battery, a three-element power source made up of 5088 cells that are linked together with a combination of series and parallel connections. With a maximum capacity of 38 kilowatt-hours—28 of which are usable—the Mini E can go 150 miles on a full charge, which works out to 0.19 kWh per mile. At today's energy prices, that's less than three cents per mile, or just pennies on the dollar compared to fossil-fuel costs.

How to Make a Mini Even Less Practical

The battery is situated where the rear passengers normally go, making this a two-seat affair. The power-storage unit weighs 573 pounds, which accounts for the bulk of the vehicle's added poundage. (The Mini E weighs 3230 lbs compared to an automatic-equipped Mini Cooper's 2634.) Mini says the vehicle's batteries can be recharged from any wall plug, with the quickest full charge coming from the included wallbox. This will be installed in the customer's (lockable) garage and can step up normal amperage to charge the vehicle in two and a half hours.

Keep Reading: 2009 Mini E - First Drive Review