The original Mini Moke had ‘cult classic’ written all over it, and that was before it turned up as a psychedelic transportation device in that high point of 1960s weirdness, The Prisoner. The Moke’s design began life as a stripped-down Mini, beefed up and simplified with a view to creating a compact utility vehicle for military use.
The Moke never made it to the battlefront, but it became a familiar sight as an ultra-light vehicle in beach resorts and other such carefree communities.
Beloved by pop cultural figures of the day, the basic design stayed in production from 1964 until 1993, before it was revived under the initiative of product designer Michael Young.
The new version was given a subtle facelift and was re-engineered for modern conditions, but otherwise the ethos stayed much the same. Young and his team set up a company, Moke International, which started off by part-building the revised car in China, before it was shipped for final assembly in its place of sale.
An electric version was also introduced, which in many ways made it the perfect manifestation of Sir Alec Issigonis’ original concept.
This is the new Electric Moke Californian, a strictly limited production series of the reinvigorated machine, designed in homage to a 1977 Moke Californian edition built at the height of beach buggy mania.
Just 325 examples of the new Californian will be available each year, fully compliant with the States’ rigorous laws as well as being highway legal.
With a top speed of 50mph, it’s perhaps the fastest Moke model ever made, the open-framed body offering an invigorating ride.
Moke Californian, available from Moke International, from $41,900
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