Just how far will Mini go for the right customer?
Very far - if a new one-of-one John Cooper Works Convertible is anything to go by...
We’re well accustomed to the makers of supercars getting super-granular with their wares; Ferrari has been at it forever, and just last month Rolls-Royce announced that it would expand its bespoke programme to produce ‘a true coachbuilt motor car’ for anyone lucky enough to be on its invite list. But now even the likes of Mini (also owned by BMW, of course) is keen to show what can happen if you get sufficiently far into its good books for the red carpet to be rolled out.
Quite how far is not made clear - the manufacturer simply describes its customer as a ‘longtime Mini enthusiast in the US’ - though it’s safe to assume that the creation of a one-off John Cooper Works Convertible requires more interaction than simply returning to the local showroom every three years. At any rate, someone convinced Mini’s design and product teams that his (or her) ‘personal vision’ was worth turning into a street-legal, one-of-one model.
Some journey when you consider that ‘every interior element was prototyped and installed by hand at Plant Oxford’. This is because the green colourway (apparently a nod to the owner’s favourite NFL team) extends to more than 50 individual details, including a metallic, green-trimmed Harman Kardon speaker surround, custom armrest overlays, a MINI.01 steering wheel badge, personalised floor mats and even instrument cluster identifiers.
The reasoning for its maker is not unfamiliar: “Our owners see their Mini as more than just a car, and for many, it becomes a canvas for self-expression shaped into a true reflection of their personality,” reckoned marketing boss, Kate Alini. Nevertheless, your enthusiasm for a convertible hatchback surely has to border on obsession to agonise about how your hand-sprayed, midnight black and custom-tinted metallic green two-tone paint job looks when inverted.
Especially when we’re talking about, mechanically speaking, an unchanged Mini JCW underneath. Meaning 231hp from its 2.0-litre engine and a ride quality best described as boisterous (or that’s the way we described it last year). We assume it’s unchanged anyway, though it’s hard to imagine that Mini wouldn’t have bent over backwards in the chassis department, given the level of effort it has expended elsewhere.
“This custom-crafted John Cooper Works Convertible represents a fantastic collaboration between the MINI product and design teams, the local market, and Plant Oxford production,” said factory boss, Markus Grüneisl. “We’re delighted with the result and craftmanship that showcases what our team in the UK can achieve.” Well, indeed. The ‘MINI.01’ is apparently en route to its new owner as we speak. Maybe when it arrives we’ll find out who it is...
That changed to a 3 level order system so that you couldn't even order a sunroof without ticking all sorts of other boxes for a level 2
To today you have to manage without a gearstick on a JCW...., when I saw that coming over the hill I had a choice of a last of the line F56, that still came with a manual option fully loaded 1-6 factory order @ the thick end of 40k or go second-hand...
k off. That changed to a 3 level order system so that you couldn't even order a sunroof without ticking all sorts of other boxes for a level 2
To today you have to manage without a gearstick on a JCW...., when I saw that coming over the hill I had a choice of a last of the line F56, that still came with a manual option fully loaded 1-6 factory order @ the thick end of 40k or go second-hand...
The original cars could be quite bespoke/fun but the latest models seem very boring.
Everything seems to come with a black PVC interior - or depression blue, if you're lucky. Not even a MINI Loooooounge any more...
I did muse that if I did have to buy a modern car, a Clubfoot All4 Alpina tribute might be quite fun. But they hid the All4 away on their rubbish configurator and dropped the Clubfoot anyway. I suppose Nitron might still help with some springs/dampers that do.
I'm sure someone might build a MINI De Ville or Margrave, but I've not seen one.
But since BMW charge £4K for a blow over in a slightly nicer 2K for a 3er, I'm sure money still talks.
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