Just brought mine home on Saturday.

How many of us out there?

 

I got mine in may... LOVE IT !!!!

 

Mine is on order! Can't wait to be able to post a pic!

 

I*m** in the waiting_______Lineeee too
it will get a MB/MB/Black Race Box in January.


So guys... weee waaan't pictuures!!!*** xOxO

 

Is there a "official JCW Clubman members" post yet?? This should be it! Welcome CROC owner! I'm told JCW Clubman's are fairly rare... very rare in the midwest anyway.

 

Mine will be BRG/BRG, but only if it ever leaves its "on order" status! I'm told it might be February by the time it makes it to the dealer. I ordered it on Dec 2nd, but my MA said they don't schedule the JCW models for production as often as the others, so they take longer than average to arrive. I have read on NAM that the Oxford plant closes for a few weeks during the holiday season, so that might also explain the delay. Has anyone else experienced this?

 

I have tried searching and found little information regarding people who have owned both a Clubman JCW and a Hardtop JCW. I am looking for a comparison to ride, handling, speed, etc. I cant make up my mind. I don't need to hear about functionality between the two or difference in appearance, just feel. Thanks

 

A friend in KC, who's also on this forum, has an R53 JCW, and an R55 S. Maybe he'll chime in.

I haven't driven an R56 JCW yet, but to compare to his R53, and my g/f's R57, it's all in the wheelbase. The turn in feels quicker, and even in a parking lot, you feel like you can turn on a dime.

Yet I notice with mine, it feels more at home on the highway, which for me I guess is better since I commute 125 miles one way and back every weekend. Longer wheelbase will always be more stable at higher speeds.

Other than functionality brad2064, does that answer yer question?

 

for the most part yes. I hope im not hijacking this thread, but does the clubman feel just as peppy and fast as the hardtop...besides turn in i really don't want to lose any other performance just for a little more room. I do also plan to put it on a track from time to time.

 

Well according to MINI, the R55 JCW weighs ~188lbs more than the R56 JCW. So that's pretty much a passenger like me riding with you all the time in an R56. The disadvantage performance as far as that goes is really more up to the driver. Shoot, my gf in her heavier R57 S can get me off the line every time cause she can power brake a lot easier than I can a clutch. Not that I want to cause that burns up an already grabby clutch.

The power, the delivery, the torque, everything about the motor itself is identical.

 

Sorry MauriceW, but you may be waiting a while. Ordered my r55 last year just before Thansgiving, the plant shut down the entire month of December, so car was not put in production until early January. The worst part of the wait is the two plus weeks it sat on the beach or played golf in South Carolina before I was able to drive the car in the snowy north the third week of February.

 

Damn! Thanks, turbotraveller. I guess it's good to know what I'm in for.

 

This is good... cause you can save some mod money!

 

Congrats! I'm getting mine next week! :D

 

Here are some pics of my JCW Clubman that I hijacked from various other threads.....purchased Sept 5, 2009 this is my 4th MINI Close to 5K miles and so far so good

 

Good looking car, Mike. Love that color.

 

Well my R55 JCW isn't stock, but it is in the shop, and they gave me an R56 JCW for the week to drive. I'm looking forward to doing some comparo's on roads I consistantly drive. Already drove it 130 miles back to base. Will give an update later this week.

 

looking forward to the comparison LiLReD1, as detailed as possible please.

 

Will do! It's even chilli red! Factory aero kit and painted fenders... kinda wish mine had that. Other than that, it's pretty basic. Manual climate controls, no sunroof, no chrome rim guages. I am liking the lack of a console though, even on the road trip, I didn't miss it.

 

Thanks, Joe! Love your color combo also - was considering red/silver but couldn't find one in my area and decided to go with the new HB.

 

Well here's as short of a write up I could put together from a post on another topic:

Well if you'd like to know, I'll do my best to explain it myself. Just turned an R56 HB JCW loaner that I've had for almost 2 weeks, and put over 1,000 miles on it including hwy driving, snow, ice, dry roads, twisties, etc. I also own a R55 Clubbie JCW, and have thrown a few mods at it, including suspension.

I will say first off, yes the Clubbie very much DOES take away the gokart feel due to the shorter wheelbase. The Clubbie is also 188lbs heavier according to MINI, and being that these cars are supposed to be indentical from the front seats forward, that added 188lbs has to be in the rear... and I can feel it.

The R56 HB, say in the snow, could easily be kicked out into a slide for a nice FWD style drift with the lighter rear end. The Clubbie actually has to be going faster to get the longer, heavier rear end to kick around. Characteristically how this translated into the dry road, other than feeling that extra weight, the HB felt like the rear end just followed along right where the front was going with good feel this side of just tromping on the gas and pushing the front end through the corner creating a lot of understeer, then letting off the gas, and dare you hit the brake, serious oversteer.

The R55 Clubman can easily be pushed into the corner creating the the understeer, but I have yet to ever get the rear end in mid corner from slowing down, or even braking. The feel of the rear end tracking true with the front end like on the HB just isn't there, also giving me the feeling I was dragging the rear end around a corner.

What I was curious and anxious to find out is how I would like the handling and cruising of the shorter wheelbase of the HB on the highway. Characteristically, a longer wheelbase is more stable at straight line speed, so I was wondering if I was going to be feeling like I was wondering in my lane at times. Honestly, it wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be, with almost no telling of a difference.

IMO, the short wheelbase and the characteristics you get with that, and the lighter rear end make up a better "MINI" experience, and in reality, more fun to drive. The Clubman is still a force to be reckoned with, but the wheelbase is more like, say what you'd get out of other 2 door compact cars out there today. (Comparison: R56=97", R55=100", Chevy Cobalt=103")

I'm a bit curious to see what kinda weight I can shed from the rear of my Clubbie to take the weight factor out of the equation, and just see what the difference in wheelbase is like.

Again, these are both JCW's! And I'm no editor or writer, so sorry for the lack of more official track terms. This road course stuff is personally a little new, more of a drag racer myself.

 

Here is mine CR/B:







This car is our daily driver and I love it.

 

We have identical cars in stock form... nice ride!

 

She's a Beaut!!


Can't wait to get mine. Looks like it will be over a week until mine comes in.

 

Thanks, I'm sure you'll love yours, once you get it. My wife and I commute together every day, so we have another daily driver (318ti). It's been really difficult driving in the ti vs the MINI, mainly because of the power difference.
Maybe one day I can do the M3 conversion in it and it might become a bit more difficult choosing which car we are taking...