Mini has spiced up its range in SA with the addition of its hallowed John Cooper Works badge to the Countryman, making it the first all-wheel-drive Mini in the history of the British brand to receive the JCW treatment.
Available in All4 drive only, Mini’s latest angry bird is powered by a newly-developed 1.6-litre turbo pushing 160kW and 280Nm (300 with overboost), with the carmaker claiming seven seconds flat for the 0-100km/h sprint before topping out at 225km/h. Consumption is in the region of 7.4 litres per 100km.
Mini also promises buyers an engine with construction principles and materials adapted specifically from its motorsport division - but here in South Africa we don’t score some of the greener tech, such as brake energy regeneration and idle stop. Six-speed manual is standard while six-speed auto with steering paddles is an option.
SWEET SOUNDS
Being a JCW you can also expect a sweet-sounding sports exhaust; and a Sport button that tweaks engine response, power steering assistance, and gearbox shift patterns. And, you guessed it, underpinning all that is a stiffer sports suspension with tightened springs and dampers, strengthened anti-roll bars, and 10mm lower ride height to keep you glued to the black stuff.
And should you still need more grip there’s the permanent all-wheel drive setup, which through an electromagnetic centre diff will talk to the dynamic stability and traction control, and the electronic differential lock control technologies to make sure traction is where it’s needed.
And what’s a JCW without the looks?
In Countryman guise we’re talking about a contrasting paint job (ask for the JCW-exclusive red), and red callipers caged behind bespoke 18” rims (19s are an option). On the inside just about everything, from the seats to the clocks, is from the JCW Sport catalogue, and there’s a very cool no-cost option available - single sport seats at the back, for that rollercoaster feel.
Driving it at the launch near Pretoria earlier this week, a few things became obvious. The badge may say Countryman and All4 may mean all-wheel drive, but the JCW part means any delusions of offroad grandeur you were having now become irrelevant. All that grip matched to the increase in power and tightened suspension makes for a thrilling little package – and those go-faster looks work well, almost making you forgive that tumour-like nose.
MINI GP
Taking it one step further, Mini SA also launched the fastest car it has built yet, the Mini GP. But, before you start salivating, only 2000 are being built with just 30 coming to South Africa, and all those are spoken for.
The GP is one helluva Mini though, rocking Nürburgring in 8min 23sec (the previous GP was 19 seconds slower) and sporting a specially-developed adjustable race suspension for those track weekends. And it looks the part with voluptuous front and rear aprons, side skirts, special roof spoiler, rear diffuser, you name it. The cockpit loses the rear bench and gets a brace, and various other racy finishes.
IMPRESSIVE PERFORMANCE
Under the skin there’s lots of “GP” going on with attention given to chassis configuration, braking and aerodynamics – all honed on the Nordschleife – and you get semi-slicks for that extra edge. Outputs, at 160kW and 280Nm (with overboost), are virtually the same as the Countryman JCW (the Countryman gets 300Nm with overboost due to its additional weight) – but performance numbers, at 6.3 seconds for the 0-100km/h sprint and a 242km/h top-end, are indeed impressive.
We got to play a little with the GP and though outputs may sound similar to the Countryman, it’s an absolute argument for how much difference chassis setup and power delivery can make in a car. The GP is a real track tool with a nice stiff set-up, and is ever-eager to chirp those front tyres between gears and out of corners. You get a definite feeling of control and precision from behind that wheel.
The Countryman JCW costs R428 000 (add R16 000 for the auto), while the GP went to owners for an eyewatering R403 176. -Star Motoring
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