Hi guys!

I received the following e-mail from Andy Hegley, my Motoring Advisor at Lauderdale MINI. Pretty exciting stuff!!!!

The waiting list for the MINI convertible has begun. The Cabrio is going to be available before the end of the '04 model year(Aug/Sept). I assume it will first be available in the Cooper and then the S model thereafter. Pictures of the car can be seen on carconnection.com and autoweek.com. It looks great. I have just put our 12th client on the waiting list. As with the S waiting list, the Cabrio waiting list will require a refundable deposit of $500 and you will be able to order your ragtop to your own spec. I recommend you move quick as these cars will be hot property.

The John Cooper Works 200-hp upgrade kit for the S is not far off (April). The "works"package will be dealer installed, with factory approval and full manufacturer warranty support. It will include a super charger with more revised gearing; there are some reworked low friction internals; hotter cams; a keener ECU, with a new silencer on the muffler to reduce exhaust back pressure. The pack can be installed on a new car or retrofitted onto an existing S for an extra 37 hp. Cost of this package is likely to be in the region of $6K. I should get more info soon.

I think this is the first concrete info I've seen! Just figured I'd keep you guys in the loop!

LETS MOTOR.
Tony

 

i personally dont like the cabrio.... the coupe looks the best, u can just put down ur 2 windows and open ur sunroof!

as for the JCW, i hope they sell parts seperately

 

>>...The pack can be installed on a new car or retrofitted onto an existing S for an >>extra 37 hp. Cost of this package is likely to be in the region of $6K. I should >>get more info soon.

WOW! 37hp for $6k? That's a large sum of money for just 37hp. I wonder why they weren't able to do it for a more reasonable amount? Otherwise, for a brand new Cooper S with this retrofit it would cost around $30k (if you got all three of the packages).

 

>>>>...The pack can be installed on a new car or retrofitted onto an existing S for an >>extra 37 hp. Cost of this package is likely to be in the region of $6K. I should >>get more info soon.
>>
>>WOW! 37hp for $6k? That's a large sum of money for just 37hp. I wonder why they weren't able to do it for a more reasonable amount? Otherwise, for a brand new Cooper S with this retrofit it would cost around $30k (if you got all three of the packages).


30k is absurd for a mini cooper!

 

Considering it comes with the full factory warranty, and you are paying for a dealer install (i'm guessing that the 6k includes labor), it does not seem like a bad deal to me...

Rocketboy_X

 

I like the convertible, but do not like the noise associated with them. It does look nice tho.

 

Any pics of that convertible? There was a really frumpy one posted a while back - hope that's not making it into production. The MINI convertible definitely has potential to be gorgeous, although the storage space/practicality seems like it would go out the window (or out the roof, if you will).

_________________
2003 Cooper, Borla exhaust, Moss intake, Magnecor plug wires - Brookline, MA

 

wwwebb - thanks! We must have posted simultaneously. I think that pic looks better than the one I'd seen before, but it's hard to tell at that angle.

 

does anyone have a pic with the top down?
will it look like the canvas whale-tail on the beetle convert.?

thanks

 

I don't think that this is the cabrio. It is a conversion job that someone did to a standard Mini. The real cabrio is still on the drawing board according to my sources.

 

if it adds 37 hp the the mini S

how does it work on the standard mini?

or does the works kit come aith a supercharger and not just pulleys?

 

>>I don't think that this is the cabrio. It is a conversion job that someone did to a standard Mini. The real cabrio is still on the drawing board according to my sources.

Isn't a MINI Convertable making the autoshow rounds?

Could be mistaken, i've been wrong before, and I don't have any reason why I couldn't be wrong again...

Rocketboy_X

 

>>I don't think that this is the cabrio. It is a conversion job that someone did to a standard Mini. The real cabrio is still on the drawing board according to my sources.

No the convertible is done. The top will fold down into the boot.

 

As I am the proud partner (note I don't say "owner"...) of a Cooper (rather than an "S&quot I'm curious about the availability of the John Cooper Works kit for the Cooper. They do both models in the UK, and their website has a specific mention that ALL kits will be available at ALL authorized MINI dealers worldwide as of April 2003. I've sent them an e-mail asking if the kit for the Cooper will indeed be available here in the US- all I've heard about is the kit for the "S". As a member of the IMPA (International Motor Press Association) I'll be going to the press preview at the NY Auto Show in a few weeks. On the schedule is the premiere of the John Cooper Works "S" by MiniUSA. I'll be sure to ask them if I haven't found out by then...
Donald