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Spyshots: MINI JCW Hatch with 231 HP to Take on Audi S1

If you opened this story hoping to read about cool colors and wheels, you're going to be in for a surprise. We're actually reporting about an all-out war between the superpowers of German automobile production.
2015 MINI JCW 10 photos
Photo: CarPix
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A coupe of days ago, Audi revealed the most supermini supermini they've ever made, the S1. It has quattro, a 2-liter engine and packs 231 HP, plus 370 Nm of torque. 0-100km/h takes just 5.8 seconds.

Today, we bring you Bavaria's answer, wearing the badge of a British traitor: the brand new MINI John Cooper Works hatchback. Together with these spyshots taken up-close and personal, we can also tell you what's under the bonnet. The B48 2-liter TwinPower Turbo engine. It's been revealed today in the 225i Active Tourer. Care to guess the output? Yep, it's 231 hp. Torque is 350 Nm (258 lb-ft), though MINI will likely offer overboost, matching the Audi engine for short bursts. The new MINI JCW will likely take about 6.2 seconds to reach 100 km/h, a little slower than the quattro car. That doesn't matter as much as you'd think though, not when the JCW is such a powerful brand/marketing tool.

I find that both the S1 and JCW target a beautifully exciting new niche in the market. They show that if you don't want a big boot and a larger car, you don't have to get the Golf GTI any more. Before these two models, you just couldn't experience the power of a 2-liter turbo engine in a supermini/subcompact, only 1.4 or 1.6-liter turbos being offered. Both these cars are actually going to be faster than the GTI and I think they could take a few of Wolfsburg's customers away.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
Mihnea Radu profile photo

Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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