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Mini John Cooper Works 1 To 6 Edition extols the manual transmission

Throughout the final year of this generation of Mini Cooper, the Anglo-German brand has been rolling out limited editions about every 90 days. We got the Mini 20 Years Edition last September, the Mini Convertible Seaside Edition in March, the Mini Clubman Final Edition in April, now we have the fourth to complete the set: 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. It copies the formula for the Clubman Final Edition in being 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. Outside, there's a Midnight Black body ornamented with Piano Black for 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 hatch in black. Red, white, and silver 1 to 6 badges appear on the side scuttles and C-pillars. Mini's making 999 examples for global buyers, so "One of 999" appears in places like the sunroof, steering wheel, and instrument panel. The black and gray interior shows off an antracite-colored headliner, illuminated red bezel for the instrument cluster, red ambient lighting, badged floor mats, and course, the stick shift with special stitching. The special makes its world debut at next month's Nurburgring 24-Hour race. One car will compete as part of the Bulldog Racing team wearing race number #126, driven by Charlie Cooper, a regular competitor who also happens to be the grandson of the John Cooper that Mini's fastest trims honor. It's a pairing that shows how the "essence of motorsport" has progressed; the hardcore Mini JCW that Bulldog Racing runs is fitted with an eight-speed automatic. We'll find out soon how many of the Mini JCW 1 to 6 Editions will come to the U.S. and the premium Mini will charge over the $35,400 of the regular Mini JCW.

Mini has become the Rover that BMW always wanted

BMW has been working for 20 years to build a successful line of British cars, and on the evidence of the second-generation Mini Clubman, it may have finally done it. That means it's time for all of us to get used to the fact that Minis aren't going to be that small anymore. Case in point is this new Mini Clubman, introduced last month and conspicuous by its size. Many of us who've pointed to BMW's stewardship of Mini as an example of retro done right bemoaned the Countryman subcompact SUV – a concept actually ahead of its time. The Coupe and Roadster, perhaps rightfully, deserved (and received) an eye roll. But now there's a so-called four-door hardtop that went on sale this year and this forthcoming, six-door Clubman that approaches the compact hatchback class in size. These vehicles actually look like practical moves at keeping buyers from defecting to larger cars made by someone else, rather than vain attempts at maximizing investment in a set of parts. And in an interesting twist, Mini is turning into one of its ancestors – minus the feeling of inevitable doom. Many of us were led to believe somewhere since Mini's relaunch about 15 years ago that the brand would be a stepping stone into the greater BMW fold. But in reality, it's done exactly the opposite, creating a parallel brand for those not willing to embrace the BMW image, but leaning heavily on British nostalgia. That was sort of the reasoning used when BMW pulled the Rover Group of England away from a fruitful partnership with Honda in 1994 and absorbed it all. In the consolidate-or-die '90s, it made sense. BMW had a small, but successful, line of sedans. Rover had no success outside of Western Europe (its last US attempt at selling cars, the Sterling, ended three years earlier). Yet its Land Rover line of SUVs was just right for the time and the 35-year-old Mini still had image-conscious clout. With every passing day, the brilliance of BMW's move to abandon Rover in 2000 seems brighter. Even ditching Land Rover made sense in the long run (and probably saved Jaguar in the process). With every passing day, the brilliance of BMW's move to abandon Rover in 2000 seems brighter. During a chat with Mini USA VP David Duncan this summer, it became clear the Mini of the past is probably gone. A small, city-sized Mini is not necessarily off the table, but larger and more profitable models are coming first.

Mini may have overexpanded, some models may not be replaced

Surprise, surprise. According to Edmunds, Mini may be looking to reduce the number of vehicles in its range, which has recently expanded to include a total of seven offerings (not to mention the copious varieties of configurations found within each line). When Mini relaunched in the early 2000s, it did so with one model, the Cooper Hardtop, and has since added the Convertible, Clubman, Countryman, Coupe, Roadster and Paceman. It looks like those ambitions of expanding the range to include up to 10 models may have been a bit optimistic.
"When we start to replace models, I think you will see that we won't replace every model exactly," Jim McDowell, Vice President of Mini USA, told Edmunds in an interview. The brand's core models right now are the Hardtop and Countryman, and of the roughly 66,200 vehicles that Mini sold in the United States last year, these two vehicles accounted for some 75 percent of total sales.
McDowell declined to mention any specific models that may not be replaced in the lineup's next generation, though our best guess is that ultra-niche vehicles like the Coupe (pictured) or Clubman. As for replacing some of the current models with new products, the only clear gap we can see in the brand's lineup is a smaller car like the Rocketman concept, though we've been told several times that a mini-Mini isn't going to happen. Be sure to let us know what Mini models you'd like to see kept or axed in Comments below.