Engaged in a "discussion" with the dealer I just bought my car from. They showed a $995 add-on on the car for a "JCW Brake Kit". Wanted this particular car, so I went ahead and bought it. Now, doing my research, it appears that the car only has the slotted/drilled rotor upgrade, and these I found at a JCW accessory dealer for a whole $87.50 apiece. Talked to them today, and they say there is a part number for a JCW kit for the R56, but I have confirmed that this is only for the upgrade of the Cooper models, as the 08 brakes I have are already the equivalent of the R53 kit, just not powerdercoated in red. So, I figure they owe me back about $800, since they most likely took the new stock rotors off and put them back on the shelf in the parts dept.
Doing google search (not much on here), I found one article that distinctly said that there is a JCW upgrade (beyond the cosmetic rotors I have) that was tested on the Nurburgring Norschlief and showed a picture of the Brembo-type calipers. The article said that they were supposed to be out in mid-2008, which is now. The dealer has no knowledge of this, apparently. Also, pics of the brakes on the Geneva show 09 JCW cars shows a totally different caliper (in red, with JCW lgos), so I don't know if those are going to be an accessory JCW retrofit.
If there's anyone out there who knows something definitive about the coming brake upgrade, I'd like to hear about it, with sources or links.
Thanks,
Fig