via Car Reviews, News, and Features on 1/10/12
- December 2011
- BY TONY SWAN
JCW is Mini's in-house tuner, adding an element of mighty to Mini performance since 2003. The initials stand for "John Cooper Works," making this car the Mini Cooper John Cooper Works Coupe. Apparently, Mini's marketers have never seen the Monty Python "Spam" sketch.
The JCW treatment is offered on everything but the Countryman, which is soon to change. The big benefit is more go power via cylinder-head work, revised pistons, reduced exhaust back pressure, and more turbo boost: 18.8 psi max.
The net is 208 horses and 207 pound-feet of torque versus 181 and 192 for the S Coupe. Though the edge in 0 to 60 and the quarter-mile is modest versus the S—6.2 seconds versus 6.6 and 14.7 at 98 mph versus 15.0 at 95—the disparity grows as speeds climb: 0 to 100 in 15.1 versus 16.8.
You'd expect to pay for the added punch, though maybe not $6600 over the S Coupe. Besides extra power and torque, the premium includes a little more rubber and stern suspension tuning that provides raceworthy reflexes as well as a brittle ride.
At almost $32,000, it's hard to perceive the JCW Coupe as a deal. It's also hard, at least for us, to perceive it as beautiful. Still, the fun-to-drive quotient is high, and you won't see one at every intersection. To some, that will be enough.
Specifications >
POWERTRAIN: turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 1.6-liter inline-4; 208 hp, 207 lb-ft; 6-speed manualFUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 25/33 mpg
C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 6.2 sec
¼-mile: 14.7 sec @ 98 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 165 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.92 g
0 comments:
Post a Comment