Tuesday, 31 October 2017

Sound and Fury: JCW Tuning Kits Now Available for Mini Clubman and Countryman

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As the top trim levels of the Mini Cooper hardtop, the Cooper convertible,the Cooper Clubman, and the Cooper Countryman, Mini’s sporty John Cooper Works models are the Minis with the mostest. They get the most luxury features, the boldest styling, the most aggressive wheels and tires, and the most powerful mill Mini makes: a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four that has been goosed to 228 horsepower and between 238 and 258 lb-ft of torque. Thing is, each one costs a bloody fortune, at least compared to their Cooper S counterparts—adding between $5600 and $7450 to their prices. Toss in some popular options and the JCW’s prices can rise well into the $40K range. Ain’t nothing mini about that.

For the last several years, Mini has made some performance accessories available on the Mini hardtops and convertibles to help bridge the power and price gap between the S and JCW models. These John Cooper Works tuning kits include software upgrades and all-new exhaust systems to help boost power and make sexy sounds while they’re at it. Now, for the first time, Mini has developed John Cooper Works tuning kits for the larger Clubman and Countryman models—the S versions, specifically.

As with the JCW kits for the hardtop and convertible Coopers, the JCW kits for the Clubman S and Countryman S include new low-back-pressure exhaust systems as well as engine software tweaks that unlock additional power. Mini says the new kit raises horsepower from 189 to 208 ponies at 6000 rpm while boosting torque from 207 to 221 lb-ft between 1350 and 4600 rpm. Note that these packages don’t include any JCW styling or chassis components, so they don’t bring the S models up to full JCW specification.

The kit’s exhaust plumbing is mostly stainless steel, with dual tips available in chrome or carbon fiber. Incidentally, Mini specifies that the two-mode Bluetooth-enabled exhaust system’s Sport mode is approved for “unrestricted use on public roads” while the Sport+ mode is “designed for use on the race track,” though we expect that most people willing to shell out $1950 for these JCW kits are not going to want to wait until a track day to enjoy the newfound sound at full volume.

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The new John Cooper Works tuning kit goes on sale in January and is compatible on front-wheel-drive or All4 (all-wheel drive) 2018 Clubman S and Countryman S models.

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