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2022 Mini JCW Hardtop Anniversary Edition gets British Racing Green, retro Cooper badging

Say a cheery hello to the 2022 Mini JCW Hardtop Anniversary Edition. This little Mini is here to honor 60 years of Cooper racing, as the first Mini with a "Cooper" badge on it went racing in 1961. Thankfully, it’s exclusively painted in British Racing Green. Mini says this JCW Hardtop will also feature white bonnet stripes with red outlines, a white roof and white mirror caps. In a way, it looks like a Christmas car with all of the JCWÂ’s standard red accents. The colors are supposedly derived from Cooper Car Company design motifs, and we canÂ’t deny that it looks good. YouÂ’ll notice the number 74 is plastered across both the hood and doors of the Anniversary Edition, as the first Mini Cooper to ever race was given the number 74. YouÂ’ll also notice the Cooper Car Company logo on the carÂ’s side scuttles and side sills to denote it as the Anniversary car. Inside, Mini honors the three generations of Cooper with the three signatures of those who worked closely with Mini etched into the cockpit fascia: John Cooper, John Michael Cooper, and Charlie Cooper. The steering wheel has a retro "Cooper" logo in the bottom spoke. Feature-wise, it automatically includes a panoramic moonroof and touchscreen navigation.  “John Cooper kicked off 60 years of performance innovation with the original Mini Cooper, and the Anniversary Edition honors the Cooper legacy that helped define MiniÂ’s performance pedigree over the last six decades,” said Patrick McKenna, head of marketing product and strategy for Mini USA. Mini says it will be selling this Anniversary Edition “in limited numbers,” so we donÂ’t expect to see a bunch of them. If you want one, the starting price is $40,750, including destination fee. TheyÂ’re available to order from dealers now. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

BMW will electrify all brands and model lines, including Mini

BMW has announced that it plans to produce a fully electric version of the three-door hatchback Mini. The car will go into production in 2019, and the battery electric drivetrain will be produced at BMW's Bavarian facilities, then transported to Plant Oxford where it will join the cars. BMW says there will remain a diesel variant in addition to the petrol, plug-in hybrid, and EV versions of the Mini. No prototype shots have been released of the upcoming cars; the current one was unveiled in late 2013. The UK production location isn't the only place where BMW builds Minis, as the former Volvo/Mitsubishi/Smart NedCar plant in the Netherlands has been tooled to build some of the 360,000 Minis built yearly. According to the BBC, UK Business Secretary Greg Clark considers the choice to build EV Minis in Britain a "vote of confidence" despite Brexit, and that it would see battery technology development boosted in the UK. By the time the EV version starts production, UK will likely have already left the European Union. The electrification of the Mini is part of BMW Group's continuing addition of full-electric or plug-in versions to all its brands and model series. Of all the vehicles it will sell in 2025, 15-25 percent will be electrified in one way or the other. Similarly to Volvo, BMW sees flexible production to be in a key position in the future: The facilities would have to be able to build all versions at the same time, as markets fluctuate depending on incentives and infrastructure. If EVs sell strongly, the production process can quickly respond to the demand. An electric Mini underwent trials back in 2008, so the full-scale production vehicle would have over a decade's worth of engineering behind it. Green BMW MINI mini ev bmw group

Evo's Mini-focused tribute to Best Motoring is the best thing you'll see all day

Our friends at Jalopnik are absolutely spot on with their argument that "your life is shit" if you've never experienced Japan's outstanding Best Motoring. The show is easily one of the best car-related things on the Internet, taking the creme de la creme from what is now known as the Super GT series, as well as D1 drift and other disciplines, and plopping them in some of the finest cars of the 1990s and 2000s. Seriously, go and check it out. Back? Good. In honor of Best Motoring, Evo has put together its own tribute (some might call it a cover version) of the video series, assembling four drivers and four cars for an all-out track battle. The vehicles in question all sport the Mini badge, and they run the gamut from hot road cars to one-make racers. First, we have Andy Wallace and the best car of the bunch, a 2006 John Cooper Works GP (full disclosure: your author owns an R53 and will never be convinced that it isn't the finest example of the revived Mini, because supercharger). He'll be followed by Marino Franchitti in R56-based, 2013 John Cooper Works GP, while Dickie Meaden and Jethro Bovingdon are in the race-prepared, second-generation Mini Challenge JCW and third-generation Mini Challenge S275, respectively. Everything from the track action (which we won't spoil for you), to the camera work to the pre-race introductions is spot on, just like we'd expect from Best Motoring. It's outstanding, and you should be sure to take a look at it straight away.