Mini Moke returns: now all-electric

MOKE International is returning the Moke Californian to America after 40 years with the more powerful and highway-legal Electric MOKE Californian — a zero-emissions re-imagining of the original 1964 Mini Moke. MOKE International owns the original 1964 British Motor Corporation Moke trademarks and is recognised in over 100 jurisdictions as the owner of the Moke brand.

The Electric MOKE Californian is handcrafted in the United Kingdom to the same specifications and standards as the Electric MOKE that recently went on sale in Europe, but its name is a US market-specific tribute to the 1977 Moke Californian — an upgraded version of the Mini Moke that was sold in America and ceased production in 1982.

The company says this is the first time a genuine version of the original Mini Moke has gone on sale in the US in more than four decades, and the first time a highway-legal version of the original Mini Moke has been available in America, with a top speed of 50 mph (80 kph). Fully charged, the Electric MOKE Californian offers a range of 80 miles (120 km) — enough to cruise Route 101 down to Malibu Beach from Santa Barbara. A full charge takes four hours on a US Type 1 charger.

“This is a momentous time for MOKE International,” said Isobel Dando, CEO MOKE International. “It’s great to be able to offer the US market a genuine MOKE car for the first time in 40 years. The original Moke Californian represented an incredibly important chapter in the company’s rich history; we are proud that the MOKE lives on and can be enjoyed in the electric era.”

The Mini Moke was born in the heartland of Britain’s automotive industry, created by the ‘father of the Mini’, Sir Alec Issigonis.

With prototypes built by the British Motor Corporation in 1959, developed under the codename ‘The Buckboard’, the Mini Moke was originally intended to be a lightweight military vehicle that could be parachuted into warzones and help troops traverse rough ground quickly. Marketed domestically as a utility wagon for farmers and workers, it quickly found adherents across the globe, especially in the South of France and Australia, where its rugged nature and open-top design made it a popular beach shuttle.

Admirers including The Beatles, The Beach Boys and Brigitte Bardot — seen driving the Mini Moke in glamourous seaside locations like the French Riviera and the Caribbean — cemented its status as an icon of the Swinging Sixties. While there were many variants of the original Mini Moke made before production ceased in 1993, the Moke Californian represented a departure from the Mini Moke’s utilitarian look.

Still built in the UK, at a facility operated by Fablink Group in Northamptonshire, the new Electric MOKE Californian embodies the same ‘freedom and fresh air’ qualities as the original, MOKE International says — but now it will play a part in keeping some of the world’s most beautiful locations clean through zero-emissions technology.

Image courtesy of MOKE International.