small has teamed up with the British fashion designer Paul Smith to create a one-off version of the small electric which highlights the issue of sustainability in automotive manufacturing.
It’s called the small strip – and, as the name suggests, it features a fairly minimal amount of equipment, finishings and trim in an effort to keep its environmental impact to a minimum.
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Following this “low impact” brief, small left the bodywork in an unfinished state. So, the finishing marks from the factory are still visible, the plastics are bare and there’s no coloured paint on the panels. Instead, small just lacquered the metal to safeguard it from corrosion.

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The duo also developed a new front splitter and rear apron, which are fixed to the car using visible screws – supposedly to show how easy it is to replace yourself at home. Both are 3D printed from recycled plastic and, like the bodywork, they’ve been left untreated.
MINI also developed a new blanked-off radiator grille and some new aerodynamic wheel covers, which it says will theoretically increase the cars range and decrease the number of times it needs to visit a charging station, thereby lowering its environmental impact further.
Both new components are made from recycled Perspex, which small says saves a little bit of weight. The same material was also used for the car’s new panoramic sunroof, that replaces the standard model’s metal roofing system like-for-like and allows you to see the supporting structures typically hidden by trim and bodywork.
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Most of the cabin has also been stripped out, in the interest of saving weight. However, so you don’t cut yourself on the exposed metalwork, small and Paul Smith developed a new dash topper, fresh door shoulders and a new parcel shelf, all made from recycled cork.
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