Not dead yet: new Mini Cooper S announced
Manual Minis might be finished, but latest petrol variant keeps hot supermini dream alive with 204hp
It definitely still feels strange writing about petrol versions of cars many months after their electric counterparts, but such is the way of the world now - it sure ain’t going back. And when hot hatch news of any description is so hard to come by these days, we should probably be grateful for any petrol-powered Mini Coopers at all. You can’t get a new Hyundai i20 N from the factory, but you can spec to your heart’s content a 150mph Mini, from £26,700. So there. The outgoing Fiesta ST-3 for the record, was from £27,380.
As per tradition, it’s the Cooper S that sits at the top of the petrol Mini range, now with 204hp and 221lb from the 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbo (up from 192hp previously). With a seven-speed DCT as the only gearbox choice, 0-62mph takes 6.6 seconds. The kerb weight is a pleasingly slim (relatively speaking) 1,285kg. The 2.0-litre S is joining the range with a 1.5-litre, three-cylinder, £22,300 Cooper C. It gets 156hp alongside 170lb ft, which scoots it to 62mph in 7.7 seconds and onto 139mph. Mini says both Coopers are fitted with ‘a suspension and damping system designed for precise handling and powerful brakes.’
There isn’t much to separate petrol Cooper S from electric from a styling point of view. Where the ‘S’ badges are yellow on the battery-powered car, they’re now red, the grille is a slightly different design, and the filler cap has been relocated. There’s no chrome to be seen. That there isn’t even a visual exhaust on this four-cylinder Cooper S (where a pair of centre-exit pipes was a Mini hallmark) so that says a lot about the future. But hey, it’s a compact, three-door, fairly affordable fast car - we’ll take them without twin exhausts if needed.
As is modern Mini tradition, Cooper C and Cooper S buyers will be offered a whole heap of options and extras with their new car. To begin, a trim level must be chosen: Classic, Exclusive or Sport. This means all cars get LED lights, the seven Mini Experience Modes (Core, Green, Go-Kart, Personal, Vibrant, Timeless and Balance), that stunning central OLED screen, a rearview camera and a heated wheel.
Go for a Cooper S in Classic spec and you’ll also get wireless charging, heated seats, a head-up display and ‘adaptable front and rear light signatures’. Exclusive adds some cosmetic trinkets to each (new grille surround, blue decorative dash strap, that sort of thing) and Sport is where it gets more interesting: that introduces paddles for the auto ‘box, 18-inch wheels, JCW Sport brakes, a bigger spoiler and red accents for the interior.
Beyond that are equipment packages Level 1, 2 and 3, which can add niceties like a pano roof, Harman Kardon stereo and electric seats. There’s a lot, basically, so probably best be familiar with the configurator before getting carried away in a dealership. Or £27k will surely become a very distant memory very quickly.
The colour seen here is Ocean Wave Green, joining the palette with Sunny Side Yellow. Melting Silver is standard, with Chilli Red, BRG, Nanuq White, Legend Grey and Midnight Black also available. The roof can be body-coloured, white, red or black. Speccing a Cooper S won’t be the work of a moment!
“At Mini, 'Power of Choice’ means that in addition to all-electric Mini models, we also offer models such as the new Mini Cooper with petrol engine. The car is ideal for all those people who want to drive a classic Mini three-door and appreciate the traditional performance and characteristic sound of a combustion engine,” said Stefanie Wurst, Head of Mini. There are surely still a few of those around. Orders are open from today, with deliveries expected in the spring. Or, if your Mini Cooper S must have a manual, right this way…
Looks like an Ora Funky Cat, because it is one, developed in conjunction with Ora…
So many on the Mini forums say they will abandon Mini for their next car on looks of this, not sure what they think will replace it though…
The petrol version is a reskin of the current car - it uses the current ICE platform. Hence it retains the clamshell bonnet.
The EV’s front end is completely different:
The back end though…. Not a fan.
Am I right in thinking there *will* be a convertible after all? Maybe that will help.
Because when i look at the New Cooper S, the first thing i see and question is the missing scoop. As owner of many Mini's i know only the R53 made use of it. But it was so important a styling feature to set the cooper S above the other models that Mini kept it for 17years after its usefulness was filled in with solid plastic. But no mention or reference to it at all? Seems odd not to mention it. It also highlight something pretty major, that Mini don't really want to be doing this model. The lack of an exhaust pipe visual again something the cooper S and JCW were almost built round shows that Mini don't want to be in that market anymore. Even the colour chosen for the press car, very tame.
it feels very much like they have played down the Petrol image, that dirty awful thing. and yet again another manufacturer who has chosen to completely ignore hybrid tech, all or nothing.
As for the design. Front is very tame, still a mini but its lost any drama, the run out F56's actually looked very brutal and i really like that look. But the front is passable.
The rear however is terrible, the top half started so well, but then the bottom half was clearly designed in another studio without internet or any contact with the top half designers.
I will give them one thing though, that interior is pretty amazing. for the money they are selling these at and looking at the competition I love how simplistic and stylish that interior is, the central screen looks great, proof will be in the use, but i really like that.
i suppose we should be happy that there is a Petrol, but I'm not expecting much out of it,
oh PH, please take a look at that logo and give you writers a jolt to remember the audience they are writing for, its not knitting heads its Pistonheads,
ker and I don't give a s
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