MINI John Cooper Works World Championship 50 Unveiled

Back in 1959, Alex Issigonis presented his small car concept which changed the way people look at small, economic cars. The same year, racing car manufacturer John Cooper won his first Formula One World Championship title with Jack Brabham behind the wheel.

Fifty years later, Mini launched a special edition called MINI John Cooper Works World Championship in order to honor both special events. The car was inspired by John Cooper’s son, Mike Cooper, whose signature appears on both the fascia and the bonnet stripes.

The car will become one of the most exclusive MINI ever produced, as it will have a production run of only 500 units worldwide. The first vehicle will come out of the factory in the first quarter of 2010.

Underneath this special edition lies a MINI John Cooper Works equipped with the turbocharged engine producing 155 kW. But both the exterior and the interior have suffered a lot of important changes.

All the cars will come in Connaught Green with white bonnet stripes, mirroring Cooper’s F1 cars. The MINI John Cooper Works World Championship has bi-xenon headlights with special black interior surface and additional driving lights with black housings, carbon fiber bonnet scoop on the bonnet, rear diffuser, exterior mirror caps and tailgate handle.

The racing theme continues in the interior, carbon inserts, full leather sports seats come in black with red piping. Door handles continue the carbon fibre theme, as does the John Cooper Works insert on the Sports Steering Wheel, which has an Alcantara rim conceived for sporty driving fun. The standard equipment includes Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) with Hill Assist, Dynamic Traction Control (DTC) and Brake Assist.