2012 Mini Cooper S Clubman on 2040-cars

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New Mini EV below the Countryman reportedly debuts this year

In October 2020, Mini provided the broad strokes of the sea-change overhaul coming to its model lineup. In the meantime, we've seen the coming 2023 Countryman and 2023 Hardtop. But haze still surrounds mentions of two more crossovers, one of them electric-only, and what was in store for the five-door hatch and the Clubman. Now that we're closer to sheetmetal reveals, Autocar believes it understands the rundown. Starting at the top of the range, the Clubman takes a fresh design into its third generation, but not a plug-in hybrid powertrain. For some reason, the PHEV didn't get approval under Mini's Power of Choice strategy to provide model lineups with gas, diesel, PHEV, and electric propulsion options. The Clubman will get an all-electric trim, though, and this is thought to be the "compact" crossover Mini mentioned in 2020. This is expected to debut before the end of this year. The third-gen Clubman is expected to grow eight inches longer, making more room not only for growing families and consideration among North American buyers, but also for a smaller model to slide underneath. The new, electric-only small crossover whirrs into this space. It will be built in China as part of Spotlight, which is BMW Group's partnership with Chinese automaker Great Wall. No one has said definitively if this CUV will be sold globally, but Mini's revised production plans will have the hardtop and convertible being built in Oxford, England, the Clubman and Clubman moving from the Netherlands plant to Leipzig, Germany, and the automaker's electric models being built in China. It's hard to believe China won't export any of the electric product, especially considering how important both the crossover and EV segments are to Mini. This small electric crossover and the three-door Hardtop EV are moving to a new platform that can house more battery, a crucial aspect for small offerings to address. The 2023 Hardtop and the small electric CUV are also predicted to debut later this year. it's said the latter won't stick to Mini's retro theme, but sport a "much more radical design." On top of that, Australia's Car Expert reported, "Mini is also set to introduce another premium compact car in an as-yet unrevealed segment, potentially based on the Vision Urbanaut concept." The Mini four-door (five-door in other markets) and Clubman seem headed for the sunset.

2023 Mini John Cooper Works 1 to 6 Edition priced at $46,295

In May, Mini showed the Mini John Cooper Works 1 to 6 Edition. It memorializes Mini racing and the "pure essence of motorsport" as a JCW with a six-speed manual transmission, hence the 1 to 6 name. Copying the formula for the Clubman Final Edition, the 1 to 6 is almost only special badges, colors and materials; there's little more to this than a retail Mini JCW with a stick shift and three more horsepower. For that, Mini has added a nominal premium of $2,500. However, product planners have made the John Cooper Works in Iconic trim the canvas for this art, so the base price starts at $43,795 before any additional treats. This brings the price before options to $46,295.  The good news after that is that there aren't many other options to add. The Iconic trim throws heaps of equipment at the car, the special edition layout locks in colors and fabrics. The hatchback comes in Midnight Black body paint ornamented with a black roof. Piano Black accents are found on the grille surround, side scuttles and waistline finisher. The 18-inch Circuit Spoke rims come in Jet Black. The gray bonnet stripe is composed of shift pattern line drawings, the same shift pattern showing up on the tailgate in black. Red, white and silver 1 to 6 badges appear on the side scuttles and C-pillars. The black and gray interior shows off an anthracite-colored headliner, illuminated red bezel for the instrument cluster, red ambient lighting, badged floor mats and, of course, the stick shift with special stitching. "One of 999" appears in places like the sunroof, steering wheel and instrument panel. If Mini will allow add-ons, the configurator on the retail site shows the only tweaks left are convenience features like adaptive cruise control for $500 and utilities like roof rails for $250. The 999 examples for global buyers are being served up on a first-come-first-serve basis. Preorders are open now, a $500 deposit holds a place in line. Deposits are expected to start in Q3 this year. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. 28 Women Stuff Into a Mini, Set Guinness World Record! | Autoblog

2015 Mini John Cooper Works Hardtop First Drive [w/video]

In its previous iteration, the Mini John Cooper Works three-door was a bad little mother. It looked like an engorged puffer fish facing down a shark, sounded like squadron of hornets with even the tiniest provocation of the throttle, and turned corners like it was angry at them. It was hard riding and ill mannered in all sorts of daily driving situations, but supremely satisfying when used in the all-out-attack mode for which it was designed. I dug every minute I spent in one, when really concentrating on driving. (As a commuter or passenger, not so much.) It only took fifteen minutes of driving on the lilting, tree-lined roads outside of New Haven, CT, to realize that the 2015 Mini JCW Hardtop was a lot less pissed off. And with more power, refined ride quality, a better interior, and an available automatic transmission, a lot more suitable for a wide variety of drivers. The little hellion has matured. On that grownup tip, the first of the many '15 JCWs I sampled was fitted with a six-speed automatic transmission. Cue collective shocked gasp. I'll forgive you if you didn't know an auto was going to be available equipment on the JCW, as Mini product planners had to remind me that it had been offered for the first time on the model-year 2013 car. Even then, the manual trans saw an impressive 75-percent take rate, so it's not as if many of the auto-shifters made it to the street. That could change in this new generation, where the 6AT acquits itself quite well. Wheel-mounted paddles offer near immediate response to requested shifts, and programming for the sport setting causes gears to be held up to the top of the tach. The manual is far more engaging, even if the automatic is quicker than the human hand. The six-speed Getrag manual transmission is still the better option, even the car is two-tenths of a second slower to 60 miles per hour with it (6.1 vs. 5.9 seconds), and less fuel efficient in the city (23 vs. 25 miles per gallon). The manual uses a long-levered shifter that still feels positive going between gates, and a short-travel clutch that's got nice weight and an easy catch point. It also offers defeatable rev matching, smoothing out even very aggro downshifts. Mini measures the manual as slower than the auto, but I had a lot more fun using it to harness the increased power of the 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder engine.