2013 Mini Cooper S Hardtop, Loaded With Options, Only 5,927 Miles on 2040-cars

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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:

Mini Clubman Concept isn't mini, isn't a Clubman

Hey, remember when Mini was... mini? I know, you've heard all this before. But seriously.
Take this new Mini Clubman Concept, for example. As you'll recall, the current Clubman slots in between the Hardtop and Countryman models in the Mini lineup. But because the new, third-generation Mini has grown, so has everything else. And in fact, the concept car seen here is actually 4.4 inches longer and just over 2 inches wider than the current, already-large Countryman. The future of Mini looks awfully maxi.
Furthermore, the Clubman as we know it uses a weird, five-door layout (two up front, a third, suicide door, and two barn doors out back), but this concept adds a sixth door for a decidedly more conventional layout. Of course, four real doors for passengers sort of takes the uniqueness out of the Clubman package, and essentially makes this thing a not-as-tall, front-wheel-drive Countryman. Totally necessary, right?

On Location in California with BMW and Mini

A mid-winter escape from frigid Michigan to drive a trio of new BMW and Mini products? It'd be a busy couple of days, but you can't argue with Southern California in February. The temperatures in LA, where we drove the Mini Cooper S Convertible, hovered in the mid-80s, and it was solidly in the 70s further north, at Monterey, where we drove the M2 and X4 M40i. The highlight of the trip was Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, which is a rewarding track to drive in a street car. The M2 was a blast there. The canyon roads above Malibu in the Mini were a close second, but even the lazy drive down the PCH to Big Sur was a blast. More important is the California state of mind we were in when driving all three of these cars. I've spent a lot of time in this state, and it has a complicated relationship with the car – and there's also a huge difference in attitude between the greater Bay Area and Southern California. Ample sun and twisty roads clash with image-consciousness, eco-consciousness, and brutal urban gridlock, and each BMW dealt with that paradox admirably, in its own way. Take a quick jaunt to California with me and check out the locations and experiences that helped form our impressions of these vehicles: the 2016 BMW M2 First Drive, the 2016 Mini Cooper S Convertible First Drive, and the 2016 BMW X4 M40i Quick Spin.