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DRIVEN: John Cooper Reborn In Performance Mini
Convertible version of hottest Mini adds high-performance fun to everybody's favorite retro car.
Bob Golfen  |  Posted May 16, 2010   Phoenix, AZ
Fast and fun, the John Cooper Works Convertible adds top-down driving to the high-performance version named for the famed Mini racer. (Photo: Mini)
The story of John Cooper looms large in the history of the original Mini, how he took the tiny British “people’s car” and developed it into a giant killer of international proportions.

The late racing innovator, who pioneered mid-engine Formula 1 cars in the 1950s and whose competition Minis won three Monte Carlo rallies in the 1960s, is inextricably linked with the Mini, then and now.

Unlike many ragtops out there, the Mini still looks cool with its roof up. (Photo: Mini)
So it’s only fitting that the performance version of the modern Mini should evoke his name. The Mini John Cooper Works edition adds a passel of go-fast goodies and body aerodynamics to the already spirited Copper S, turning the little retro-mobile into a riotous blast of pocket-size fun.

Power comes from a twin-scroll turbocharged 1.6-liter engine that produces 208 horsepower and 192 pound-feet of torque, with an overboost mode that briefly adds another 15 pound-feet. That’s a heap of pull for a 2,849-pound car.

Zero to 60 comes in just 6.6 seconds, according to the manufacturer. And the fuel mileage is decent at 26 city and 34 highway, according to the EPA.

The convertible version of the JCW, as it’s known, came out at nearly the same time as the coupe and Clubman models, and becomes the top dog of Mini’s nine variations of its second generation. I drove the ragtop during a week of balmy Arizona spring weather, top down most of the time.

Mini's dashboard is a retro-themed melange of the fine and the funky. (Photo: Mini)
Fast Minis are nothing new, with plenty of driving enthusiasts taking their BMW-designed cars and turning them into hot street or racing versions. During a trip to the Bonneville Salt Flats, I encountered a group of Mini drivers who were trying out their highly tweaked street cars at the speed-record Nirvana.

There’s also a well-known Arizona racing veteran whose latest fun-mobile is a tricked-out Mini coupe. I drove it, and it’s truly wild.

The John Cooper Works Convertible provided loads of excitement on its 97-inch wheelbase, the cornering prowess matching its engine power with a race-tuned suspension. The tradeoff is a sometimes brutal ride on rough pavement, and a surprising amount of body flex, which I hadn’t noticed on a Mini S convertible I drove several years ago.

But it’s all good fun, and driving the JCW Mini reminds me of the classic British sports cars that I’ve known and loved. But faster.

The hottest factory Mini is a pricey number, with a base MSRP of $34,300. Bottom line for the one I drove, with a bunch of premium options, came to $38,050. That a lot of dough, considering that a Cooper S convertible goes for just over $27,000, base price.

The Mini convertible is pure sports-car pleasure with the top down, though the stowed roof can block the rear view. (Photo: Mini)
But you do get a lot of little car for the money, plus all the eyeball you can handle. The JCW convertible turned heads wherever we went, with lots of excited questions in parking lots. Other Mini drivers practically did back flips at the sight of the JCW, which most certainly would be a major hit at a Mini club event.

The JCW is pure hedonistic fun to run through the gears, with the blaring exhaust that pops and burbles between shifts. On the road, the Mini sounds strident and aggressive. Actually, the noise level can get quite high, including the rumble and thump from the performance tires.

Power is readily available at any speed, and it’s easy to get going into hyper-legal speeds without realizing it. Back roads become go-kart tracks, with the Mini joyously rotating into turns and the quick steering responding instantly to driver input.

Torque steer weighs in under fast acceleration, but it’s not too objectionable thanks to electronic controls. The brakes, with bright-red calibers peeking between the spokes of the alloy wheels, are highly effective.

The modern Mini is a stylistic gem, garnering the spirit of the original for the 21st Century. Compared with the minimalistic Mini that put Britain on wheels in the 1950s, today’s Mini seems huge yet not nearly so space efficient. The back seat is barely usable, especially in the convertible. The convertible’s trunk is tiny, compared with the coupe’s open hatchback space.

The John Cooper Works models get a deep front spoiler and other signifying design cues, which made the Mini convertible look like a proper little road rocket. The top retracts quickly, though its piled-up folds behind the rear seat can block rear vision.

The cutesy top-down timer is a waste of good gauge space that could be better used. (Photo: Mini)
The interior continues Mini’s quirky style. Gotta love those toggle switches, the enormous speedo that dominates the center dash and the steering-column-mounted tachometer that looks like a hot-rod addition.

All Mini convertibles get this odd little gauge that sits to the left of the tachometer that measures the amount of time you drive with the top down. This was part of a marketing campaign when Mini first produced the convertible, calling out the lifestyle aspect of having a cool convertible and enjoying it to its fullest.

The top-down timer seems pretty contrived, and the prominent gauge could be better utilized in the performance-oriented JCW convertible with a turbo-boost meter or some other eye candy.

But despite a few issues, the John Cooper Works Convertible certainly fulfills its promise as a balls-out hot Mini that will outperform many bigger, more-visible performance cars on the road or track. Just the way John Cooper would have wanted it.

Details

Vehicle type: Four-passenger, two-door convertible, front-wheel drive.
Engine: 1.6-liter turbocharged inline 4, 208 horsepower at 6,000 rpm, 207 pound-feet maximum torque at 2,000 rpm.
Transmission: Six-speed manual.
Wheelbase: 97.1 inches.
Overall length: 146.2 inches.
Curb weight: 2,849 pounds.
EPA fuel mileage: 26 city, 34 highway.

Bob Golfen, Automotive Editor for SPEEDtv.com, is a veteran auto writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, who has driven and evaluated essentially every new vehicle sold in the United States. A lifelong car enthusiast with a passion for collector cars, car culture and the automotive lifestyle, he annually attends and writes about Arizona's famous January collector-car auctions, focusing on Scottsdale’s monumental Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Event and other Barrett-Jackson auctions. SPEEDtv.com fans email Automotive Editor Bob Golfen at


The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel

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