MINI Cooper S

The new arrival is here

I’ve just popped out to open the floodgates, in anticipation of the reaction I may get from you all after reading this piece. And if you have looked at the pictures attached to this and already made a judgement, allow me to change your mind.

Roof spoiler optional

A few weeks ago I told you that I was moving on from my lovely Z4 coupe, I didn’t need to move on I just like changing my cars quite often and it was time to have a think about what to get next. The plan is to run a new fast car as a daily driver that will also be fun on the track, and then buy something older to play with. Currently I am thinking of a couple of grand’s worth of MX-5 to make into a track slag or maybe blow the budget and get a 964, who knows. The new car decison was a little easier, I wanted something small with decent power, but there is a lot to choose from these days. In the end I went for the turbocharged, 175 BHP MINI Cooper S - but why?

There are a few reasons to be honest. Last year I drove a MINI Works and was impressed with what it could do, much better than I was expecting to be honest. Fast forward a few months and I’m at a London PH hoon, sniggering at a fellow PHer's new Cooper S (he also has a TVR). But then the smile disappeared as I had to work the Z4C hard to keep up with him. Since then, he has had nothing but praise for the car. I have also been following the long term reports in EVO magazine and they seem to love them, the MINI even holding its own at their last PCOTY test.

I'm only interested in the top one

A couple of drives in turbocharged MINIs over the last few months confirmed that I wanted one and with a few choice additions I think this could be a blast on the track. It’s fair to say that the man on the street will think I have become an estate agent, but I don’t care.

Spec is all important on the CS and I knew that I wanted the car to handle, rather than look pretty. So when speccing the car most of the chrome was removed, I didn’t want any design on the roof nor did I fancy any spotlights or bonnet stripes. What I did want was black paint and - as a homage to the Z4C - porn spec red leather. I also wanted a LSD, 17-inch wheels, sports suspension and xenon lights for late night hooning. The unnecessary but tempting options chosen included the aero body kit (more about that later), upgraded speakers and darkened rear glass. All in all, the final bill came to a touch over £21,000. Blimey, it was more than I thought; let’s hope it’s worth it.

Black grille replaces standard chrome

So what’s the plan? Well, I want to run it for a while as it is, and it certainly seems in rude health, feeling much faster than the claimed 175 BHP. But soon I will fettle and first on the list will be the upgraded JCW suspension. Then I will add the JCW tuning kit, taking it to 192 BHP and that kit comes with the sports exhaust too. This should see the car ready for the track, and as I have chosen the subtle aero kit over the more obvious JCW one, the car will be fast, yet look pretty standard from the outside.

I’ve had ‘OOV’ for a couple of weeks now and I really, really like it. The LSD makes a great deal of difference to the way the car handles - it seems ridiculously fast exiting corners and if its wet it impresses even more. The noise is great with pops and bangs from the exhaust being a regular occurrence - sometimes loud enough to make pedestrians jump - maybe I should check that with the dealer to see if it should be doing that? All in all I have to agree with EVO, its performance is much better than you would expect from the looks, despte theirs being a JCW whereas mine is just a standard S for now.

Hmm, MINI in name only

The hidden potential can be a problem though. In the Z4C if I was going down a dual carriageway or overtaking, other drivers would stay in lane, or indicate out in front of you at a safe distance. In the MINI, doing the same speed, people just pull out on you - not expecting you to be going at any sort of pace. Drivers of more obvious performance cars hate you passing them too and do their best to get in front of you again only to hold you up at the next corner. It's funny really and not something I ever experienced in the Z4C, nor my previous Boxster S.

I have already added one accessory though. Those that read the ‘Pedal Powered’ forum on this very site may have noticed that I have bought the other half and I some new bikes, and we wanted to be able to haul them around. The MINI roof mounted bike rack was quite tricky to fit initially as it involves some cutting of the roof rubbers, and tightening it all up was a two person job. Once in place though it doesn’t make any noise when at speed, and as I like the fact that it makes the car look even more unassuming I have left it on all the time.

Exhaust is surprisingly noisy

So far so good then, it really is a surprising car. Give me a few weeks to put some more miles on it, take it to the next PH track day and stretch its legs on the way to Le Mans and I’ll tell you how we are getting along.

And now, the forum is open for your comments, come on let me know what you think!

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J111

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241 months