the Clubvan concept,
Mini is to bring a new range-topping Countryman John Cooper Works to the Geneva show.
The Countryman JCW will be the first all-wheel-drive JCW Mini, and also the first to offer an automatic gearbox as an option - a clear indication that Mini boss Dr Kay Segler is keen to expand the JCW sub-brand's line-up, much as he did in his previous incarnation in charge of BMW's M Division.
Saying that, although the Countryman gets uprated springs and dampers, strengthened anti-roll bars and a 10mm drop in ride height it's not expected to be quite as 'hardcore' as other JCW models.
Power from the 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine is 211hp at 6,000rpm, while torque is up at 207lb ft between 2,000rpm and 5,600rpm, with the familiar overboost function pushing that up to 221lb ft for brief bursts. That's all enough to push the Countryman JCW to 62mph in a healthy-ish 7.1 seconds and on to a top speed of 127mph (although that falls to 7.5 seconds for the automatic version).
The fuel consumption also suffers in the auto - it can muster just 35.3mpg on the EU combined cycle compared with 39.2mpg for the manual version.
The new Countryman JCW will go on sale in the UK this autumn, with an expected price hike of roughly £5K over the 184hp Countryman Cooper S, bringing the JCW in at just under £28k.