Honour needs to be given where honour is due. The Mini would certainly have not been born if it wasn’t for John Cooper. John Cooper was a racing legend. He was the first man to race the small Mini. Putting a powerful engine into a very small body shell meant that the Mini Cooper would surely fly. And in the hands of John Cooper, it most certainly did! In the 1960s Mini beat many marques like Jaguar and Rover with ease, as the car simply flew around the bends.

The very sporty John Cooper Works version has elliptical eyes (headlights), a wide open grille that has a nice hexagonal design. The overall appearance of the Mini’s face is of determination, sportiness and aggression. Very aerodynamically designed, the Mini John Cooper Works has a slippery, curvy exterior that slips through the air molecules in a smooth succession. The car boasts a high waistline, a low profile stance and loads of fun. The car’s handling is nothing short of tenacious. Incredible balance in the corners, and quick acceleration off the mark, make the car fabulous to drive. The engine is wild, uncompromising and bursting with energy, and the twin-scroll turbocharged engine generates a fearsome 260 Nm torque between 1850-5600 rpm – and with the Overboost function a large 280 Nm at 1950 rpm is on offer. By the way, amazingly, the engine is only small. Only 1.6 litres big to be precise.

The 4-cylinder, 16-valve motor is mated to a reinforced clutch and six-speed manual gearbox. It’s also amazing to think that out of the 1.6 litres you can squeeze out 155 kW of power at 6000 rpm. “Not bad”, I hear you say. You’d be right. Taking the lead at lights becomes a hoot, particularly as the little Mini John Cooper Works has a 0-100 km/h sprint time of only 6.5 seconds. And get a load of this: The John Cooper Works version can run on to a superior top speed of 238 km/h.

Fuel consumption need not be too strenuous, so you should approve of the combined economy figure of 6.9 litres/100 km. CO2 emissions make for environmentally friendly reading. The emissions figure is a low 165 g/km. The car weighs in at an athletic 1205 kg.

Inside the cabin, BMW has made an impressive effort to make a cabin that not only looks great but feels good to. The seats are supportive, and all the electrical features are there. The interior is incredibly flexible when it comes to tastes and preferences. If you drive a car like this, it shows that you like something a little exotic, something that’s fun and entertaining. And so you should! With modern classical styling, the speedometer in the centre of the dash, rev counter behind the steering wheel, big air vents across the dash board, a multi functional steering wheel, splashes of chrome trim against dark trim and black and red sport leather seats you are in for a sensational drive. Great sounding music, air conditioning and electric windows are all features that come as standard items. Luggage capacity isn’t too bad either. With the seats up you have a handy 160 litres in the boot. Drop the seats down, and you widen the practicality value of the little car to 680 litres of luggage space.

Hot looking and very different, the Mini John Cooper adds a good wallop of spice to your daily driving routine. And you’ll be pleased to know that the prices should be quite within your reach.

The current model series includes the:

• Mini John Cooper Works

For any more information on the Mini John Cooper Works, or for that matter any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181. If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quote requests out to our national network of Mini dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours. Private Fleet – car buying made easy!

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