At the Detroit Auto Show back in January, Mini showed a concept of the new John Cooper Works model. Work is well underway on that JCW as we have now spotted a prototype doing some testing at the Nürburgring, Nordschleife. This is still not the "complete" JCW since it's missing the correct rear bumper with its diffusor and the side skirts. What we can see, however, is more interesting: a front bumper with additional air intakes and bigger brakes with red calipers both front and rear. This prototype already has the correct wheels as well.

We expect the power to come from a four-cylinder engine delivering around 230 horsepower.

Are you excited for the new JCW F56?

 

Gotta say, gonna have some serious JCW envy when these start hitting the streets.

 

yeah, I just couldn't bring myself to be patient enough to wait for it...If for some reason they start taking orders before my MCS gets here I will consider placing a new order and waiting it out. I doubt that will happen though because I estimate delivery of my MCS around the end of July.

 

Hopefully they'll be offering a brake kit so I can upgrade my MCS. I was thinking about just painting my calipers red but if this might come out soon, I'll be happy to wait.

 

Well,it looks like i won't be driving my TT roasdster for too much longer!!
6 extra months for convertible version?

 

Where are the fog lights?

 

For better or for worse (depending on what side of the fence you are) it looks like they are sticking with the new front bumper design styling direction for the time being.

Personally I still wish it was different. I just can't buy into that styling specifically because of that area, even if having seen the new MINI in person is not as bad looking as it is on photographs, again purely personal taste here

 

I was tempted to wait but a year is too long. The body kit may be this fall though. 230 HP? That's insane. Mine will do that with an ECU but I'm afraid I'll get into trouble lol.

 

I still wince when I see those cartoonish rear lights.

I look at this car and think "Well... maybe if you painted the rear hatch grip white... paint the rear tail light trim rings white as well to minimize the lights...and painted the arches to make the wheels look right... and colored this duct in a contrasting color... and painted this and that... and smoothed in this fake vent and repainted..."

Maybe I just know too much about MINIs or have too many pre-conceived opinions on what they should look like, but I rarely look at a car and find 5+ places where I'm thinking "What in the heck was the stylist thinking?"

I think that it could be cool... it's just going to take a lot of work and $$$ to cover up the flaws (what I see as flaws). It is probably exactly what a plastic surgeon thinks when he sees me.

 

My friend has a new MCS, and I think some of the changes have made the car "de-minied," such as the black switches that replaced the chrome toggles, which look like they're more suited for the interior of a Honda Accord. Makes me appreciate my '09 Clubman all the more!

 

Still ugly. :(

 

i hope finally put some effort in the develop of the performance putting a real lsd in the front and more ponys in the engine.
At less her in Chile, mcs it's getting back with all the new hot hatches like renault megane rs, trophy and opel corsa opc, nurburgring, skoda vrs, vw gti, audi a3, etc.

 

Will it come with the camo "hockey puck" in the middle of the grill? That might be an improvement over the standard grill/bumper.

 

Unless the F56 has a new and less lumpy front end, at least 250 horsepower, mechanical limited slip and a default "off" setting for the auto start/stop system, it won't be competitive in the marketplace and I have no interest. The Gen. 7 GTI is a much better performer and value.

 

Nice job!

 

MINI has said you won't see the JCW in the U.S. until next year - no earlier than March, but I'm guessing more like April or May. I'm hoping that it's being delayed to fix the front end styling and add some horsepower.

 

I'm sure that mechanically the new JCW is worthy of admiration. I wish the same could be said for its design aesthetics.

 

This car doesn't look anything like the finished product. This car's being tracked. There was a prototype F56 JCW at an autoshow for those more interested in the look. One thing holds true with this car: the new one doesn't look as good as mine lol. They slammed the F56 on Motoringfile when released last year.

 

Can't wait for this to come out!

 

Still not sold on the new front end. It looks so ......... so generic, so smooth and bulbous. The GP treatment below the bumper looks as though there will be improved air flow to cool the front brakes and possibly improved air handling under the car for better traction.

But, still not a sale here.

 

Dear BigNewt,

The F series is another devolutionary milestone. In my biased opinion the R53 ’06 represents MINI’s best design to date. If Rocketman ever materialized it may help to offset the design deficit.


On Jun 24, 2014, at 1:58 PM, North American Motoring <do_not_reply@northamericanmotoring.com> wrote:

 

It needs to be turned to 11 for it to be really appealing. I am assuming that the test car is still in "mule" form as it looks like the MCS... a lot!

The wheels suck as well. I was never a fan of the JCW GP wheels. Butt. Ugly.

 

Heartily concur with the above commentary. 2005/2006 R53's were the halcyon years. It would appear that MINI has fallen into the same trap of U.S. designers who feel obliged to change something every year whether it's needed or not. 230hp at the flywheel, given parasitic losses of 85%, is 195.5 rwhp, easily achieved on a R53 with a pulley and a tune.

 

Yes, it's a very relevant comparison of a ten year old car with a tune to a stock car with a warranty. I'm sure a Morris Mini with a tune would be even more awesomer!

From all appearances, Mini is playing the BMW game of making the core product too large for some of the buyers and then introducing a smaller version below it.

For me personally, I need the size of the F55 and I'll take some of the added creature comforts that just weren't available on the R series cars. But at the same time, I'd love to see them offer a smaller, sportier car too. Of course for me, playthings are rwd, so unless it were comically small,I'd probably pass.

 

The all blacked out front end on this car makes the F56 MUCH more aesthetically pleasing up front. Hopefully the fJCW will have a "black out" option like the updated R60/R61's do.