Technical details have been released for the new MINI's and to be honest I was underwhelmed. The Cooper S is getting a 189hp 2.0L engine and the base Cooper will get a 134hp 1.5L engine both are turbo'd.

I'm a mini fan, but I can't wrap my head around how lackluster these stats are. The Mk 7 GTI is putting out 217hp with it's 2.0L. Currently the Ford Focus ST does 242hp from it's 2.0L and the Ford Fiesta ST's 1.6 does 200hp.

I love mini's (even though mine has been at the dealer for a month waiting on a thermostat) but the competition is definitely getting better.

Also, no 8 speed transmission in the F56, it seems the are going with a revised version of the current 6 speed auto. Why can't we have a DSG like the GTI has had since 2008?

Edit: Newly released spyshots here. Looks pretty ugly IMHO

 

I guess I'm not terribly surprised by the engine stats. The S will be able to get decent mpg since the engine won't be stressed, but they'll have plenty of room left over for the JCW.

The rev matching down shift sounds interesting. How well does it work on other cars?

Surprised about the auto trans. I figured they'd step up to a DCT for sure.

 

Hate to sound like a Debbie Downer but the MINI keeps on getting worse. Just ask the 1st gen owners I have a feeling current 2nd generation MINI owners will start to romanticize their platform just like the 1st gen crowd. Understandably so!

Really applaud Ford on the Focus ST engine. Great numbers for a 2.0L. The even more exciting thing from a powertrain perspective is that the car is easily tunable via the fantastic Cobb AccessPort v3!

 

double post... sorry

 

The S will be compete with the GTI in price yet it's down on HP. Saab was putting out 240hp from 2.0L turbo's and that was in 2003

 

I'm not so sure the Mini is gettign worse, just that the gains are rally less than you would expect. The N14-N18 basically made the same power from 2007-2013 and the F56 doesnt' show much of an improvement sadly.

The Fiesta ST is looking like a very attractive option at the moment. You can get one new for what a used Cooper S costs.

 

i mean i took my r53 over a focus ST, the focus ST has alot of blind spots.... plus the seat was super uncomfortable, and then the biggest thing, its a ford

while i am unimpressed with the power that this f56 makes, look at a torque it comes with stock, im sure once the tuners get their hands on it.... hopefully BMW wont be completly stupid and allow the aftermarket commity have some fun with that engine!

 

This news is a big let down. My gf just got a 13 countryman s, I have a 07 r56s. I was hoping for a big increase to put it on par with the gti, focus st, mazdaspeed 3...ect. If It got a big increase, I would have bought one asap. I would go for a jcw though....so I'm holding out a little hope that they sandbagged this on purpose to put a bigger difference between the jcw and regular s.

If there isnt a big bump or this isnt seriously underrated, I may have to look at diff options...32k for a base jcw or 32k for a fully loaded focus st, mazdaspeed 3, gti...ect

 

Tuning for the R56 was lackluster to say the least. The one big handheld tuner (Cobb) pulled out after the N14 was ended. There are a handful of custom tuners but that's pretty much it. I no longer have hope that anyone will develop the type of full featured tuning for our cars that exists for many other manufacturers.

 

Man, i would love a 2.0 in my r56. I just feel like it will be more capable than the n14/n18. Yeah, the stock hp is lackluster, but i think it will have potential. Well, i hope it will have potential.

I also really hope the aftermarket picks up, it's a shame they didn't for the r56.

 

I just don't think MINI feels like they're competing with anyone else. Are they still maxing capacity in their factories? I don't think they're going to really up the ante as long as sales are strong, which is too bad for us. I have my fingers crossed for an awesome AWD JCW, but who knows what they'll give us.

 

So they are increasing the engine size by 20% and this brings the horsepower up 5 hp... Or 3%
How does this make sense?? One must hope a tuning source will come out soon after it's release to show its potential. Amazed that mini is releasing a car that is almost 50 hp behind a car with the same size motor.

 

The funny thing is that BMW already makes a 2.0l engine that produces 240hp in the 328i. This does not mean that the engines are the same, just that they know how to squeeze more power out of a same displacement motor but for some reason they won't. Also iirc, the Hyundai sonata does 270hp from its 2.0l! Surely BMW can match the performance of a fwd 4 door Hyundai...

 

I am excited for a big bump in displacement to 2.0 liters for the S model. Yes, the HP rating isn't anything special, but the torque numbers are nice. It leads me to believe that the JCW version is going to be a big improvement. I also hope that the aftermarket will respond with huge gains, because they've got so much more to work with, from a sheer displacement factor alone. It seems like a better foundation with which to build big power gains.

As for the styling... Ughhh. I'm hoping it'll grow on me, but right now, it's hard to find anything nice to say about it. It no longer looks like a fun, happy car. It looks frightened, and frightening. The gloss black bumper and chrome piece dividing the open-mouth Manta Ray grille looks cheap and distracting.

It is busier-looking, and less consistent with the design. It lacks the simplicity and clean design of the 1st and 2nd-gen cars.

It makes me happy I still have my R53.

 

Well judging from the pictures leaked today, there's nothing aggressive about it at all!

Engine OR looks

 

It looks absolutely terrible.

What it looks like to me, is a nightmarish version of the R56 as seen through the eyes of the most die-hard, unforgiving first generation owner.

I don't have an issue with the overall shape of the car, but that front end is just sickening.

 

Historically the last two years of the first and second generation MINIs have proven to be the best in terms of quality and reliability. If one was in the market, it might be prudent though not always feasible to wait and see how the third generation fares.

 

Mitsubishi has been making 270+ from 2.0L for a long time (with torque numbers to match) with the 4G63 and 4B11 with way more potential beyond that. The only reason I could see to hold back power is to not step on the toes of the 1 series, which is probably why they make ECU tuning so difficult as well.

 

those headlights are ridiculous. it looks terrified.

if i could make 450fwhp out of a 2.4L and a tiny turbo, mini can do a hell of a lot better than this. the numbers are really unimpressive, especially for the price. but it's nothing that can't be easily fixed with some minor modification.

 

Don't they owe royalties to the makers of Despicable Me for using the minions as a model for this disaster?

 

if I know BMW, then:

A) Those power numbers are underrated, it's performance will be on par with the more powerful cars mentioned in this thread (allowing them to claim "look at us we can do it with less power")

B)It will get very good gas mileage. No doubt a big consideration when tuning this 2.0L to those power levels.

 

The front sorta looks like that ugly Fiat 500L lol

Edit: Actually, the Fiat looks better from the front view hahaha

 

Exterior is butt ugly. The Mini thrill of simplicity & clean lines is gone. I am going to keep my 2010 S for a long long time unless in-person I get a different perspective.

 

As I've said before, I'm thankful I ordered my '14 MCS Roadster. MINI is supposed to introduce a new 'sports car' with hardtop and soft top versions in 2015 -12016. I'll see how that goes. If it's front end resembles the F56, I'll hang on to my Roadster as long as humanly possible. The F56 front end looks absolutely awful.

 

I have to wonder how much the B38 shares with the N20...as the spec's are quite similar to the 320 version of the N20. Which not sure how many of you have driven a 320 yet, but that motor in a MINI would be fantastic. It's not all about just a horsepower number on a piece of paper, which you all seem to be complaining about.

I'd also bet that the 3 cyl B37 will be oddly similar to BMW's new 3 cyl to be used in the i-Brand cars.