Each week our team of experienced senior road testers pick out a new model from the world of innovative, premium and performance badges, and put it through its paces.
AUG 08th 2016
The Goodwood Test: Mini John Cooper Works Convertible
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Heritage
Such is the wealth of history that lies behind both Mini and John Cooper Works (JCW), that each could be accorded its own heritage section. While Mini and Cooper have been linked since the Sixties, however, it wasn't until 2001 that the full John Cooper Works tuning business was applied to one of the first BMW Minis; a savvy move by BMW. For a while, JCW offered upgraded in the form of tuning kits for Cooper S models, but in 2008 BMW bought out JCW and produced the first JCW version in-house.
Such has been the popularity of these hard, fast little pocket rockets, that Mini launched a JCW Convertible this year – a coming together that left some purists smirking about just how the dynamic characteristics of a JCW badge could be applied to something as obviously “lifestyle” as a Mini Convertible. Did Charles and John Cooper ever imagine that their name would sit on a convertible four-seater, beefed-up Mini? Probably not. Does it matter? Well, you might look to Land Rover for the answer to that – their Evoque Convertible has gone down a storm, proving that what drivers want now is the experience; something a little special; something to put smiles on faces, and a less po-faced, purist reaction to a car…
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Design
Here, the Mini JCW Convertible scores a fulsome, buxom, gorgeous 10 out of 10. We’ve never sat in such a stunningly designed supermini. From the familiar, huge Mini circular central dash, which is surrounded by an LED halo that lights up round the circumference and changes colour depending on what you're doing (turning up the stereo volume, or accelerating each bring on different colours), to the black leather seats which have black leather and suede Union Flag cutaways in the back of the headrests, the Mini is simultaneously fun, smart and uber stylish. Oh, and unmistakably British.
Our test car had navy blue body work and bright red roof and wing mirrors, with liberal splashes of JCW styling all over the place from the smart tread plates to the car’s face, peppered with air intakes and more dashes of red paint. What’s not to like? Admittedly, you couldn’t see any of the design on Goodwood’s test car after a weekend with it as we had it over the Festival of Speed, when parent company BMW celebrated its centenary, and it got rather, er, muddy….
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Performance
Thankfully the latest JCW Mini provides a slightly less lairy ride over broken surfaces than predecessors, despite being the most powerful Mini yet built. It’s still a shedload of fun – the engine has gone from 1.6 to 2.0 litres, with a 10 per cent increase in horses (to 228bhp) and a 23 per cent increase in torque (236lb ft) – but the ride has noticeably calmed down, a result of uprated springs and dampers, new supports and wishbones and a lighter, yet tougher, multi-link rear suspension. That torque increase is welcome, and gives this car performance that would see it sit happily at the lower end of the sportscar market.
We had the six-speed automatic transmission, which doesn’t feel right in a Mini, and sure enough, 80 per cent of UK cars are expected to be manuals. Still, bung the gearbox in manual mode and it shifts quickly enough; to 62mph in 6.1 seconds.
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Passion
We loved this car. It screams history, passion, Britpop culture, fish n chips, cricket, Radio 6 Music, Adele, Brighton, grassroots motorsport, ploughmans, candyfloss, parks, bulldogs, villages, South Molton Street, umbrellas… It matches Hunter, Barbour, Burberry, Belstaff, Dunhill, Boodles, Asprey, Jo Malone, Musto, Vertu, Smythson… it’s up there with the best British brands this year. In fact, now we come to think of it, it should be the next Goodwood long-term test car…
Price of our car (inc options) : £30,865
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