I've searched both here and Google and I've e-mailed Mini Fini but not yet received a response. The Mini Fini sport link 3 is supposed to work on an R56 with JCW aero kit if I'm reading things correctly, but I can't seem to find a picture of where the holes end up in the bumper once it's installed. Odds are probably pretty slim of someone having this combination, but it never hurts to ask.

Had a MiniDoMore hitch on my Clubman and while the hitch was excellent quality I found it to be a huge pain in the butt getting under the bumper to install the hitch pin when installing or removing a bike rack. Love the fact that the Mini Fini accessories install entirely from the out / top side of the car.

 

Hey I have it on my 07 MCS with the JCW body kit. Had to remove rear bumber to do it. And then cut a hole in the plastic bumber for the hitch.
It has worked fine for me. But nobody ran into the back of me either.
if you want pics josephbalon@gmail.com

 

Shot you an e-mail. Pics would be great! Itching to be able to haul bikes again, and I'm really hoping the Mini Fini will work for me. Disappointed that Mini Fini still hasn't replied. E-mailed them again, directly this time instead of via their contact form, but still nothing back. Would be nice if they'd at least shoot me back something letting me know if they don't have any pics of the combination available offhand.

Installation itself isn't a huge concern... Fortunately the rear bumpers on these cars are pretty easy to remove. I had the rear bumper off my last car three times (installing the hitch, enlarging the hole so I could manipulate the hitch pin in without trying to reach around from under the car, and removing the hitch), and by the third time I'd gotten it down to about 25-30 minutes to remove and re-install the bumper cover and metal bumper. Drilling holes in the bumper is another story - I could spend a couple of hours checking and double checking locations before drilling and still cringe when bit bites into plastic.

 

Just an update: Russell with Mini Fini got back to me this afternoon with some pictures of the setup. I've replied back and if given the OK to do so (always nice to ask) I'll post them here.

Looks like the ports end up about an inch below the black faux grille on the rear bumper and protrude around 3/8". Shame the ports don't align with the grille, but it wouldn't really be reasonable to expect them to - we're talking a niche of a niche of a niche here (MINI owners with JCW bumpers who also want trailer hitches).

I'm thinking if I go this route I'll skip the caps and paint the ports body color, then cover them with 3M clear bra material to protect the paint during installation of the adapters. Just deciding whether I want to permanently alter my bumpers to get a minimally intrusive look or go with the racks, which I don't really like the look of but don't require any significant permanent modification to the car (just the little plugs).

If I had more free time I'd go for option "C": design a roof rack that utilized the original mounting points but didn't sit up insanely high to clear the sunroof (since not all of us have one).

Edit: Attached photos. Russell gave the go-ahead.

 

Just curious what you ended up doing??

I just got my '12 MCS with the JCW aero kit and would like to transport my mountain bike. I was looking at the roof racks, but like you, I hate that there's not really a low profile factory option for us non-sunroofers!