2011 Mini Cooper S Hatchback 2-door 1.6l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

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.

MINI Cooper SE Convertible concept is a one-off EV for sun worshippers

Mini rummaged through its parts bin to create a new concept called Cooper SE Convertible. As its name implies, the electric ragtop was built by dropping the Cooper SE hatchback's battery-powered drivetrain into the body of a gasoline-powered Cooper S Convertible. Visually, the Cooper SE Convertible stands out from its gasoline-powered sibling by adopting some of the Cooper SE's defining styling cues. It wears a plastic panel instead of a grille, an array of powertrain-specific emblems, yellow accents, and 17-inch Power Spoke wheels. Mini also added a handful of "THIS TOY IS ELECTRIC" decals, and it kept the power-operated soft top that opens or closes in 18 seconds. Power comes from the Cooper SE's electric drivetrain, which consists of an electric motor that draws electricity from a 28.9-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack to zap the front wheels with 181 horsepower and 199 pound-feet of torque. The hatchback's maximum driving range checks in at about 110 miles, which is hardly a stellar number, and we don't know what effect chopping off the top has on that figure. Mini stresses that the Cooper SE Convertible is not a production model. We're not surprised: the current-generation Hardtop is at the end of its life cycle and its successor should make its debut in the not-too-distant future. However, the concept suggests (though nothing is official yet) that the next-generation Convertible will be offered with an electric powertrain. And while drop-top sales are dropping around the world, but Mini said in 2021 that it won't leave the segment. The next Mini Convertible is tentatively scheduled to make its debut in 2025. Related Video This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Mini Clubman to get the 'Works,' four-door Hardtop not so much

Performance sub-brands are expanding faster than leftover marshmallow Peeps in a microwave. And Mini's John Cooper Works line is not likely to be an exception. Mini's stand at the New York Auto Show was somewhat low-key, with the debut of the Clubman All4 all-wheel-drive variant on one end and the expected John Cooper Works Convertible on the other. And for the foreseeable future, the Mini lineup will change through redesigns of existing models and the introduction of more derivatives – like a John Cooper Works version of the new Clubman. At least that's what some of Mini's product guys indicated. "The Works is always our top model. John Cooper Works is not just limited to small cars, it's also for compact cars," said Ralph Mahler, Mini's head product manager, in an interview with Autoblog at the New York Auto Show. "Therefore, I wouldn't see anything against bringing the Works to the Clubman. I think it would be a perfect match." Though one was offered in the last generation, a Works model may seem at odds with the new Clubman's mission, as the company has spent considerable effort pitching it as the grown-up Mini, something to rival premium-branded compacts. Yet Mahler sees a possible Works Clubman as the ultimate in the lineup and an exclusive model, especially since he said take rate for the rest of the Works Minis is around 5 percent. Patrick McKenna, Head of Product Planning at Mini USA, said that since the Clubman went on sale early this year, ordering has included mostly highly optioned models, and customers are notably cross-shopping the Audi A3. Loaded up, a Clubman Cooper S All4 pushes past the $45,000 mark. Currently, the most powerful Cooper S produces 189 horsepower from its 2.0-liter turbo four. That's more power than a front-drive A3 1.8T, but less than the A3 2.0T Quattro – and way less than a cheaper Volkswagen Golf GTI. Consider that the engine in the just-released John Cooper Works Convertible produces 30 more horses than the one in the Cooper S and a Works Clubman starts to make more sense. Strangely, the four-door Mini Hardtop, released last year, doesn't appear to be destined for the Works treatment. McKenna said the four-door will continue to offer special appearance packages that offer Works-like touches and offer dealer-installed accessories such as exhausts and horsepower increases.