Thursday 11th December 2014

Mini Cooper S JCW details

UPDATE: JCW confirmed for Detroit unveil, April on-sale date, £23K starting price and, yes, gopping front bumper

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Good, the basics were right about the Mini JCW. It will have 231hp, there will be two gearbox options and all the tech mentioned in yesterday's story. The images were correct too, which perhaps isn't such good news...

Expect many a pop and crackle from here

Anyway, let's fill in the blanks of the leaked story with Mini's official information. In best new Mini parlance, we are promised 'precisely controllable go-kart feeling'. Contributing to this are a host of suspension upgrades including aluminium swivel bearings on the front axle, model-specific axle kinematics and lighter rear axle components. The electronic diff lock mentioned yesterday will be supplemented by 'Performance Control', which we're told 'supports agile turning when taking bends at speed'. The JCW's brakes are indeed designed 'in collaboration' with Brembo and use four-piston front calipers to ensure 'consistently high deceleration performance' even on track. The red Brembo calipers sit behind 17-inch Race Spoke Design Design wheels with optional 18-inch Cup Spoke Design items available.

And what of that front end? The grilles and vents and inlets are indeed functional, the fog lights replaced by more cooling capacity for the ancillary units and brakes. The air ducts and side sills contribute to improved aero also, working in conjunction with the rear spoiler and diffuser.

Control your go-kart from here!

The power and torque peaks of 231hp and 236lb ft represent gains of 10 and 23 per cent respectively over the old JCW but there is a significant difference in terms of efficiency between the two gearboxes. Stick with the manual and the Mini JCW will officially return 42.2mpg and 155g/km; the auto improves these to 49.5mpg and 133g/km. DIN kerbweights for the two models are 1,205kg (manual) and 1,220kg for the automatic.

Inside there is the usual array of JCW extras including new bucket seats, embossed sills, new pedals and so on. There's also a 'Driving Excitement' package as standard. Consider us intrigued on that one.

As expected, the Mini Cooper S John Cooper Works will make its public debut at the Detroit motor show next month. Prices have also been confirmed ahead of UK sales beginning in April; without a single option (including a JCW head-up display and new Rebel Green paint), it will cost £23,050. That compares very favourably with the £24,905 asked for a three-door Audi S1. Twin-test to follow as soon as possible!

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Original story, as reported 10/11/2014:
The John Cooper Works is always the Mini we're waiting for. The Cooper and Cooper S models have always been good right back to the R53 but the Works have always been a good chunk more fun. The GPs have been downright hilarious but we're getting ahead of ourselves now. This is the third generation Mini JCW, set to be shown at the Detroit motor show but leaked through Australian media today.

Boo!

In the hot hatch power wars the John Cooper Works stacks up well. It matches the Audi S1 to the horsepower (231) and the 236lb ft torque peak equals that of a Mountuned Fiesta ST. It uses the same 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder as used in the Cooper S, with both six-speed manual and automatic gearbox choices. A 0-62mph time of 6.3 seconds for the manual has been suggested, with the auto a fraction quicker. Make your own guesses as to how close each car will get to the claimed 42 (manual) and 49 (auto) combined fuel economy figures.

Amongst the upgrades over the Cooper S, the JCW gets brakes 'designed in collaboration with Brembo', retuned adaptive dampers and an electronic diff lock. Standard wheels are 17s, with 18s optional.

On first glance it doesn't seem to be quite as wild to look at as the JCW concept seen early this year which is rather a shame. Minis are often quite spec dependent however so let's see see how it looks in the flesh. It will definitely take more than a JCW badge to make that front end pretty!

Expect official confirmation of the JCW soon with full spec and pricing details around the Detroit show in January. And if you really can't withstand the looks of the current car, early JCW Minis are now available from £5K.

[Sources: WCF, Caradvice]

[JustADay]

Grille-tastic!

[Oddball RS]

6 Grilles and................. a fake bonnet scoop, why? did anyone actually style this?

[g3org3y]

As with the Audi TT, the Mk1's styling still hasn't been bettered by the later versions.

[FWDRacer]

Rover did the R50 (Mk1's) Styling ;-)

[Nezquick]

These are getting uglier each and every time they re-design them.

[Numeric]

Messing around with headlights in terms of quirky positioning is never a good idea - think Ford Scorpio - so angling the headlight cluster up the wings is the bit that for me has really messed it up, so they look far too small from some angles. You really do have to wonder who styled this thing!! I realise designers go on about distinctive faces, but I have a distinctive face and it is not a selling point!!

Alongside this I don't feel all that inspired - we loved our JCW and were willing to wait, but when we saw the S and heard about the preliminary specs we thought sod it and got an M135i instead.

[Jez m]

The front end is a complete mess.

[Gandahar]

Is it ugly red car day today on PH?

I'd like on these but the size of a Mercedes GLE please

[allergictocheese]

Aren't the changes to the front end of the MINI more generally influenced by the pedestrian impact regulations, which require a high bonnet line.

[dinz]

I've owned a mk1 Cooper and a mk1 Cooper S, both fantastic cars, and good looking to boot.

The mk2 was uglier and lost some of the character (power steering pump noise etc).

The mk3 is utterly hideous!! I love MINI's but I wouldn't buy one with someone else's money. The bonnet length and headlights are awful, but not a patch on the utterly ridiculously over-sized tail lights. At least I get a laugh every time I see one!

Rant over

[chrisjpartridge]

allergictocheese said:

Aren't the changes to the front end of the MINI more generally influenced by the pedestrian impact regulations, which require a high bonnet line.

Pedesterian safety?

What - Make it really ugly so it scares people away?!

[coogy]

I loved my R53. This - no.

[peterattheboro]

Absolutely foul.

I cringe every time I see one on the road.

[Oddball RS]

peterattheboro said:

Absolutely foul.

I cringe every time I see one on the road.

+1

[tyrrell]

Front end agree looks a total mess, what were they thinking

[Numeric]

I do get a little worried - the old car sold to people who liked something stylish, that it also appealed to people who loved driving was probably a minor part of the majority of buyers requirements. I'm sure the new one is stellar to drive, but if you lose the fashion buyers it could be a big loss to sales for a car which is really valuable to UK PLC.

[k-ink]

That is a shockingly ugly version of a far too common car. Although I'm sure it'll drive well, no thanks!

[kazste]

How did no one in the design department stand back and go, doesnt this look a bit like a daihatsu sirion?

[RemaL]

Do not like

[Swanny87]

Why do Mini always put really horrible wheels on the JCW versions? I know you can choose better wheels when buying but then why don't they put the nicer ones on for the press photos? I can't believe there is someone out there who thinks those wheels look good.