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MINI John Cooper Works Hardtop to Be Unveiled at Detroit - Report

The world is currently waiting for MINI to launch the new John Cooper Works model, the first one in the brand’s history with a 2-liter inline 4-cylinder powerplant.
MINI JCW Concept 1 photo
Photo: Screenshot from Youtube
Surprised? You shouldn’t be. We’ve been saying that the new JCW model will come out with the same plant used on the BMW 225i Active Tourer for quite a while now, part of a new engine family.

Codenamed B48, this unit will be an upgraded version of the one used on the Cooper S that we had the chance of driving a while back. It will be developing 231 HP and 350 Nm (258 lb-ft) of torque and all of it will be sent to the front wheels initially. Later on, the car will probably get the ALL4 all-wheel-drive system as well, couple with either a manual or automatic 6-speed auto.

The news is that apparently, the JCW will be unveiled in full at the Detroit Auto Show in January 2015, nearly one year after the concept was unveiled.

As far as design changes go, don’t expect big differences. Most of them will be focused around the front and rear bumpers, the brake calipers and wheels while inside the same overall theme will be kept along with a couple of new details.

The competition will be fierce though. Audi’s S1 is the biggest challenger of the moment, also fitted with a 231 HP 2-liter turbocharged engine that has a bit more torque though, at 370 Nm and it’s also available with quattro as standard.

The front-wheel-drive JCW will probably be a little slower but the ALL4 version should be right up there in terms of performance. However, the biggest difference will be done by the cars’ weight figures. That’s where the MINI might actually win, with the S1 being on the heavier side of superminis tipping the scale at 1,470 kg (3,240 lbs). A Cooper S, by comparison, tips the scale at 1,175 kg (2590 lbs) and the JCW shouldn’t be any heavier.
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