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Mini John Cooper Works GP spied with wide body, big wing

The Mini John Cooper Works GP was just announced to have over 300 horsepower, and we got an early glimpse at it with teaser images. And now one of our spy photographers caught the car with very thin camouflage. The spy photos reveal that the Mini GP is sticking fairly close to the Frankfurt concept, but toning everything down a bit. At the front, the Mini GP clearly is using the current John Cooper Works hardtop front bumper, but it does have deep chin spoiler additions that allude to the GP concept's massive splitter. The grille has been revised, and the gloss black lower sections are now made of a matte black mesh design. The slot in the middle could have red accents on each side like the red stripe on the concept. The front spoiler blends right in to the new extra-wide fender flares. While the fender extensions don't protrude as far as on the concept, they're otherwise very similar in how they sweep backward at the tops and stand away from the body to allow air to flow through. Something else noticeable from the side are the enormous front brakes. The rotors nearly fill up the wheels, and the calipers look really beefy. The five-spoke wheels on this prototype will be replaced by GP-signature four-spoke wheels as revealed by teaser shots. The back of the GP looks about how we would imagine it. The split rear wing is roughly the same shape as the concept's, but a little narrower. The bumper has a big diffuser area that doesn't necessarily look functional, but should at least look cool. The rear exhaust tips look bigger than normal Mini John Cooper Works models. The Mini GP will go into production in 2020. Only 3,000 examples will be built. We suspect the GP will use the same turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine as the BMW X2 35i, which makes 306 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque. Coupled with weight savings, possibly involving a rear seat deletion, and upgraded suspension, and this should be a shockingly fast Mini. Related Video:

Future Mini JCW models likely to be electrified

High-performance Mini Coopers need to be small, nimble, and relatively quick. One thing they don't necessarily need to be, according to the company's U.S. leadership, is gasoline-powered.  In an interview with Motor Authority, Mini USA Vice President Mike Peyton said that electrification is on the table for the range-topping John Cooper Works variants, which have traditionally been powered by a high-output turbocharged engine. The latest and greatest in the lineup, the 2020 Mini John Cooper Works GP, takes the formula to a new extreme, pairing a 301-horsepower mill with out-of-this-world aero. Peyton says that powertrains don't necessarily have to sound or feel the way traditionalists expect in order to be fun. It certainly doesn't have to feel that way in order to be fast; Tesla drivers can attest to that, as can those who have been fortunate enough to pilot some of the latest electrified hypercars.  He also acknowledged that while the future may be electric, that future is still a ways off. Mini is still waiting for advances in battery technology that will allow its performance models to deliver on other key expectations — namely handling. Minis are expected to be, well, miniature, and the additional weight of a current-generation, high-capacity battery is antithetical to that formula.  The take-away? The future of Mini performance is electric, but that future is still distant. So while the Mini Cooper SE and Mini E Countryman plug-in hybrid may give us a taste of Mini's approach to electrification, it could be some time before we see the company's highest-performance variants dabble in same space. 

2016 Mini Convertible puts the tanning salon on wheels

Here's a basic tenet of the Mini product schedule – a new generation Mini Hardtop debuts and then, within a year or two, it's followed by a convertible variant. Considering this, the debut of the third-generation Convertible – less than two years after the third-gen hardtop – is right on schedule. Slated to arrive in dealers right in time for the start of the 2016 convertible season, the latest Mini Convertible doesn't really shock. It takes the same basic look below the beltline, and pairs it to a power-folding softtop that does a much better job of maintaining the Hardtop's iconic silhouette. That said, the size of that "C-pillar," for lack of a better phrase, is immense. We doubt this new model will do anything to improve on the last Convertible's awful blind spots. Mechanically, the soft top can be raised or lowered in just 18 seconds and at speeds of up to 18 miles per hour. Like the two generations of Convertible that came before it, this latest droptop uses the same engine lineup as the three-door model. For the standard Cooper, BMW/Mini's 1.5-liter, turbocharged triple is still offering up 134 horsepower, 162 pound-feet of torque, and a 0-60 time of 8.2 seconds with the automatic and 8.3 seconds with the manual. For the Cooper S, the 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder dishes out 189 hp and 207 lb-ft of torque, along with 0-60 times of between 6.7 and 6.8 seconds, depending on the transmission. Those gearboxes have also been plucked from the Hardtop models, with standard six-speed manuals and optional six-speed automatics, regardless of engine. Yep, that's right, the excellent eight-speed auto from the Mini Cooper S Clubman isn't being offered on the Cooper S Convertible. We've got a huge array of photos of the new Mini Convertible, which puts a particular emphasis on the handsome, droptop-specific Caribbean Aqua of the base Cooper. Check out the photos, and then scroll below for the official press release from Mini. Related Video: OPEN DRIVING EXCITEMENT: INTRODUCING THE NEW MINI CONVERTIBLE Open Driving Excitement: Introducing the New MINI Convertible Newest member of MINI lineup goes on sale in U.S. in March 2016 First open top MINI powered by BMW Group engine technology and architecture Woodcliff Lake, NJ – October 22, 2015 – MINI USA introduced today the newest addition to its iconic product line, the new MINI Convertible.