Put a Mini Cooper in entrance of nearly anybody, and so they’ll be capable of efficiently determine it. As some of the recognizable automobiles ever – initially for its unbelievably small type issue – it lives on in the present day as a shadow of its former self. As such, Motorsport Journal’s newest video showcases an acceleration check that includes the most recent John Cooper Works Mini GP.
Whereas many purists will abhor the crass quantity of energy – 301 horsepower (224.4 kilowatts) to be actual – coming from the car’s BMW-sourced turbocharged 2.0-liter engine, we’d be remiss to not point out that the primary John Cooper Works improve equipment was energy centered. Semantics apart, the added grunt can propel the hot-hatch to 62 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour) in simply over 5 seconds and all the best way as much as 149 mph (240 kph) in just below 24 seconds. That’s all effectively and good, however there’s a lot extra to the JCW identify than meets the attention.

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To the uninitiated, Mr. Cooper is a racing legend who went on to construct automobiles that may win championships in Method 1 pushed by the likes of Jack Brabham, Stirling Moss, and Bruce McLaren. After making his mark on this planet of open-wheel competitors, he took on the problem of constructing the BMC Mini appropriate for racing.
Spoiler alert: the small hatchback was a superb springboard for a light-weight racing automotive. Initially constructed to go rally racing, the primary variant featured a stroked out engine, close-ratio gearbox, and entrance disc brakes – just one,000 have been made. It doesn’t sound like a lot, however it was sufficient to blitz the Monte Carlo Rally within the Sixties. Even circuit racing legends like James Hunt, Niki Lauda, and Jackie Stewart started their careers behind the wheel of a Mini. And we predict that claims all of it.
Certain, we are able to’t make certain what John Cooper himself would consider the most recent mannequin, however it’s clearly some of the succesful front-wheel-drive hot-hatchbacks on sale in the present day. Find it irresistible or hate it, the most recent variant undoubtedly retains among the racing DNA from its predecessors.