With BMW revealing the M Performance range in the next week’s Geneva Motor show, its mini brand MINI is ready to boast its John cooper Works (JCW) Countryman, the most powerful MINI ever.
Adding JCW label to its name, MINI has added tons of power under its hood. Rumors of JCW MINI Countryman have been circulating from as early as 2010. But the MINI has made it official, JCW will pioneer the next breed of MINI.
The Sporty guise of the Countryman features aggressive looks, with aerodynamic body kit, a lowered sports suspension and 18-inch alloy. It also sports high-performance brakes, sporty exhaust system and JCW badging. On the inside, JCW Countryman features sport seats, sporty steering wheel, dark speedometer and tachometer, and red contrasting stitching throughout. However, the JCW tuning don’t stick to the exteriors only.
To begin with, the JCW Countryman will be the first of the brand’s and MINI’s all-wheel-drive car. In addition, JCW is also offering the Countryman a choice of transmission from 6-speed automatic with an already existing 6-speed manual.
The JCW Countryman is powered by a 1.6-litre turbocharged inline four-cylinder, capable of developing 215 hp and a torque of 280 Nm. An Overboost function allows the engine to get a power dose of additional 20 Nm. This function is adopted from BMW’s Valvetronic technology which features direct fuel injection and variable valve timing system. The cooling system is modified with oversized intercooler to support the re-tuned settings.
MINI is front-wheel-drive under standard conditions. However, a smart Electromagnetic center differential is incorporated to send 50% power to the rear wheels incase there is traction loss under varying gradients and terrains.
The new drivetrain enable the Countryman to run from dead to 100kmph in 7.1 seconds with manual transmission or 7.5 seconds with the new automatic transmission. It has a top speed of 225 kmph with manual transmission and just 2 kmph lesser with the automatic one. The fuel economy figure of JCW Countryman is rated up to 13.9 kmpl and 12.5 kmpl for manual and automatic transmission respectively. In terms of emissions, the Countryman delivers 167 g/km and 187 g/km for the manual and automatic variants respectively.
Pricing of the JCW Countryman has not been announced yet. Cooper S was launched in India recently, and it is the only MINI that makes sense on Indian roads. However, there is not much hope of the JCW Countryman coming to the shore anytime in future.