It was the hottest ticket in town at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show. Now the new MINI John Cooper Works, based on the latest MINI 3-door Hatch, has become the hottest new car on the streets of Britain.
Drawing on the much-loved British brand’s 55 years of proud motorsport heritage, it is the most powerful production MINI ever. Its 2.0-litre MINI TwinPower Turbo four-cylinder engine delivers 231 hp and 320 Nm of torque.
Competition expertise has been put to good use in the design of the engine, suspension, brakes and aerodynamics. The exterior styling and interior trim also benefit from motorsport influence and distinguish the John Cooper Works as a model in its own right, totally distinct from the MINI Cooper S, while the sports exhaust system delivers a rich racing-inspired sound.
The figures alone mark the new John Cooper Works out as the sportiest MINI ever to be offered for sale. Acceleration from 0-62 mph takes just 6.3 seconds with the six-speed manual transmission – an improvement of 0.2 seconds, or three per cent, over the previous model – and an even more rapid 6.1 seconds with the optional six-speed Steptronic sports automatic gearbox, which includes Launch Control.
Driving flexibility and overtaking prowess have also been emphatically sharpened thanks to the 320 Nm of torque: acceleration from 50 to 75 mph is completed in 5.6 seconds (manual gearbox), a 10 per cent improvement over the previous model, and a time which puts many sports cars in the shade. With either transmission the top speed is 153 mph.
All of this has been achieved with the exemplary efficiency made possible by MINIMALISM fuel-saving and emissions-reducing technologies, which are a feature of every model from MINI. With the manual gearbox, the new John Cooper Works has combined fuel consumption of 42.2 mpg with CO2 emissions pared to 155 g/km. With the automatic sports transmission there are even more spectacular improvements of almost 20 per cent over the previous model, with figures of 49.6 mpg and 133 g/km.
On the Road Prices:
MINI John Cooper Works six-speed manual £23,050
MINI John Cooper Works six-speed Steptronic £24,380
