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Mini John Cooper Works wears a racing suit for the Nurburgring

Mini is returning to the Nurburgring 24 Hours, one of the most grueling races in the world, after a decade-long hiatus. The BMW-owned British firm is supporting a private team called Bulldog Racing that's entering a heavily-modified John Cooper Works Hardtop into the event. The track-bound hatchback doesn't look, sound, or feel like a standard John Cooper Works Hardtop. Several modifications were made to prepare it for the race, including fitting the turbocharged, 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine normally found in the Clubman and the Countryman. It develops 306 horsepower and 330 pound-feet of torque, and it spins the front wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission with an integrated differential lock. For context, the standard John Cooper Works Hardtop is rated at 228 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque. The engine slurps fuel from a bigger, 26-gallon tank and it exhales through a modified exhaust system. Dialing in more power wouldn't be much use without suspension and braking modifications to keep it in check. To that end, the Hardtop gains an adjustable suspension system, reinforced Uniball bearings for all moving chassis and suspension parts, and more powerful brakes from BMW M Performance. Bulldog Racing also installed a full body kit that looks like the one worn by the John Cooper Works GP, which is limited to 3,000 units. It includes a front splitter, flares over the wheel arches, an adjustable rear wing, and a rear diffuser. There's more than initially meets the eye: we're told that the underbody is completely covered as well. Makrolon windows replace the production car's glass units to reduce weight. Inside, you won't find many components that still carry a Mini parts number. Open the driver's door, which now features a carbon fiber panel, and hop over the full roll cage to settle into an OPM racing seat that faces a KMP quick-release steering wheel. The digital instrument cluster and, somewhat surprisingly, the infotainment system's screen remain, but the rear seats and most of the trim pieces have been removed. Bulldog Racing will continue to fine-tune the track-bound Hardtop in the coming weeks. Some tests will be performed on the Nurburgring, while others will take place on the private test track that BMW operates near Miramas, a town in the south of France. The hot hatch is scheduled to make its competition debut at the 50th edition of the Nurburgring 24 Hours taking place in Germany from May 26 to 29.

2025 Mini Cooper SE John Cooper Works gets more pizzazz, no more power

The new-generation Mini Cooper SE will come with a John Cooper Works edition, but this time it brings cosmetic changes only. The 2023 Cooper S two-door made 189 horsepower and 206 pound-feet of torque from its 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, the JCW version made 238 hp and 235 lb-ft from the same engine. This time, the electric powertrain in the JCW trim makes the same 215 hp and 253 pound-feet of torque from a single motor on the front axle as it does in the 2025 Mini Cooper SE, powered by a matching 54.2-kWh battery. The 0-62 mph time takes the same 6.7 seconds, and European regulators give it the same 250-mile range on the WLTP cycle.  It won't be confused for the regular hatchback otherwise. If the red stripes don't give the game away, the chunky diffuser in the front will. Backing up that aero mod, there are Chilli Red side mirror caps and a Chilli Red roof finished with a hatch spoiler, red JCW-logo brake calipers, a gloss black surround for the grille, snazzy two-tone wheels in a design called Lap Spoke, and, naturally, JCW logos sprinkled about. Those with a keen eye for Mini won't need all that, they'll spot the twin horizontal bars for DRLs, signifying JCW's minimalism and raciness.  The cabin's synthetic leather and knitted fabric gets held together with red stitching. On the seats, this is arranged with knitting above, vinyl below. The instrument panel and door cards wear what Mini calls a "knit covering," stylized checkered flags forming a recurring pattern. For even more red, the driver can set the drive mode selector to Go-Kart Mode, calling up an anthracite red lighting scheme for the central OLED display and ambient illumination. Basically the JCW version of a Sport mode, it unleashes sharper throttle response and a "special Go-Kart sound," too.  Pricing isn't out yet, and we don't expect it until we're much closer to the 2025 launch for this market. Related video:

New Mini Countryman shows its big bones

The latest crop of Mini models are larger than their predecessors, and these spy shots let us check out the upcoming Countryman, which could be the biggest vehicle from the diminutively named brand yet. This test car drops some camouflage from the previously spied examples, which gives us a much better look at the new design. Up front, the swirling camo panels do nothing to hide the Countryman's broad, mesh grille, and you can easily make out the shape of the oval headlights. These shots offer a clear look at the lower air dam, with round foglights flanking the central intake. At the rear, the Countryman gets Mini's traditional big taillights, and the exhausts poke out from each corner of the bumper. The next-generation Countryman grows longer and wider to increase interior volume, but the crossover rides on BMW's UKL platform like the rest of Mini's latest vehicles. We also anticipate it to share the same choices of three- and four-cylinder turbocharged engines. Like the recently revealed Clubman All4, expect all-wheel drive as an additional option. After the launch of the standard version, which could happen at the Paris Motor Show in October, the brand likely plans to fill out the Countryman range with a performance-oriented John Cooper Works variant and a greener plug-in hybrid model.