In the March 2012 issue of Road & Track, they tested the MINI JCW Coupe. They added the data to their Road Test Summary chart in the April issue. The JCW Coupe excelled in the slalom test, finishing with a higher speed than many cars costing much more.

See a sample of the chart on my Library of Motoring site:
Road & Track handling test summary

That is a nice color of green.

Thanks for sharing James

Thanks James. I remember reading that and thinking the same thing expressed in the Library Of Motoring article...it's in pretty good company. I'm not sure what tire the JCW's are coming in with, all-season or summer performance, but a change to better rubber would result in even better scores in all three categories. Think about that


-Steven

Mine came with these, which are theoretetically ultra high performance summer tires. I say "theoretically" because, well, just look at the tread wear rating: 280. I have to say they have plenty of stick in the dry, though.

Oh, yes, and they're kind of pricey. For the cost of 4 of those, you can get 4 great non-runflats mounted on something like a Motegi SP10 (lighter than the wheels on the car, I'm sure), plus Mini's answer to fix-a-flat.

Thanks for the info Ken, that's not a bad tire for a runflat. I still think we could see better numbers with better tires such as Michelin's new Pilot Super Sport, Potenza S-04, and Conti Extreme DW. I'll be looking at those, with most likely the nod to the Michelins when the JCW arrives. Bottom line, you gotta be impressed with the chassis on the Coupe/Roadster.

-Steven

The tires matter quite a bit don't they.

My Works car pulls more than 1.1 g lateral at every event, on street tires.

The car's not stock of course, and the tires are TW140 - to 200 range.

It's damned near impossible to equalize tires through for a handling comparison test - one would have to find a top tire available in all sizes required, and even if that were possible it would drive the cost of the test quite a bit.

Nice to see the Mini in such exalted company...

Cheers,

Charlie

Thanks Charlie, good to hear it from someone who has done it. 1.1 G...that's got to induce some smiles

-Steven