I recently sold my 2004 Cooper S JCW track/autocross/weekend car due to a new family member. I found myself missing fun evening drives and started looking at cars about a month ago. Originally, I was set on an M3 of some sort. I drove a couple through Turo and they weren't fun in the way I was hoping. 60-100 mph was breathtaking but I drive like a grandma and rarely drive 10% over the speed limit. I have the same complaint about the Golf R where it is incredibly capable but not exciting until you are going quite quickly.

I saw a 2020 Clubman JCW at a nearby mini dealership, took it on a test drive, and fell in love. The 20-60 mph pull feels great. My 1 year old has already named it "fast mini" and was upset when we left the dealership. I haven't made a decision yet but I am leaning towards the car. I am quite tall so I am going to have to order a custom car with no sunroof to increase headroom. I have a few questions as I figure out option packages.

I am looking at the Signature package with base seats. Removing the signature seats and the sunroof is a $1650 savings and brings the price down close to the Classic package. If I can swing it, I am going to get the sport suspension so I can swap out shocks for autocross purposes. It looks like I need to jump through hoops to get non-dynamic dampers on the signature package.

Which seat between the JCW seat, manual sport seat, and electronic sport seat sits closest to the floor? I was only able to try a manual sport seat in a non-sunroof (non-JCW) car so I don't have a good method of comparison. I am quite tall and this car will require a minor neck turtle for me to fit with a helmet. Whatever I can do to lessen that will be helpful.

Has anyone autocrossed one of these? I am interested in whether traction control stays fully off, how the automatic transmission responds to bouncing off the limiter, and how well the brakes work while sliding. In many GM cars, you lose all brake assist when you are sliding backwards in a forward gear. It is quite scary.

What is the recommended trailer hitch? I am eventually going to pull a ~500lb tire trailer to far away autocrosses.

It looks like 17" wheels are not an option due to the size of the brakes. Is there anything mechanical stopping me from stuffing a 245 section tire on an 18x8 wheel? Beyond the common sense reasons.

 

You must be very tall. These cars have a lot of headroom. I ordered mine back in '16 when all options were a la carte so it was simpler, but my no-moonroof, power seats car has a ridiculous amount of headroom.

I used to autocross and road race at the national level (for decades) with SCCA so I totally understand where you are coming from with the autocross ideas, but let me tell you ... these cars are way heavier than they "should" be and I'm nearly certain you'll be disappointed in its autocross prowess compared with your old car. My Clubman is just a daily driver.

 

I am 6'6" with short legs and a tall torso. I don't sit all the way back on the seat rails but my head touches the ceiling in the sunroof cars. On the non-sunroof cars, I have about 3/4ths of an inch of room. If there is anything I can do to get an extra half inch, I am interested.

The 2020 JCW Clubman will weight 800lbs more, has a smaller tire contact patch, and a similar power to weight ratio to my r53. It is going to be slower. I am not going to win solo nationals but I would like a car that is fun to autocross. Other similar cars in D Street are the Honda Civic Type R, Ford Focus RS, Golf R, Veloster N, and the current JCW 2 door. I know the 2016-2019 clubmans had a brake based e-lsd that caused brake fade on longer autocross runs. I am guessing that was fixed/removed with the mechanical lsd and turning off traction control on the 2020s. Are there any features/negatives to this car that will make it less fun to autocross? I already know about camber limitations.

 

Look into the 2021 GP3. Same engine/brakes/transmission as the Clubman, but no sunroof and no back seat and no All4 and 8 inches shorter. Therefore a lot less weight. And the same price ($45k) as the JCW Clubman ($40k) with the Signature package ($3k). You might have to look around the country to find one at a dealership in stock though. Just a thought.

 

I need the clubman because my wife and I have a one year old. Our old Mini sort of worked for the three of us but definitely didn't have room for a fourth.
The clubman won't be as agile as the two door hatchbacks but is only a little overweight for D Street autocross. I am expecting the GP to get buried in B Street (with M2, Supra, Evora, GT350, SS 1LE) due to the limited release.