What's the news?
Two of the most desirable (to target customers, natch) versions of the MINI collide here, as the company has announced a red-hot John Cooper Works (JCW) version of the Convertible. This is the fastest MINI open-top yet built.
Exterior
It's the same as any MINI Convertible up top - namely, a textile roof that can be fully opened/closed in just 18 seconds, at speeds of up to 30km/h, while it can partially slide open at any speed; and you can have a Union Jack graphic on the top of it, if you've gone insane - with the usual sporty JCW addenda lower down. Look for badges front, sides and rear, the beefier front and rear bumpers, wide side sills, LED headlights with white indicators and LED rear lamps, plus a new optional body colour exclusive to the JCW, called Rebel Green. In the arches reside a set of 17-inch JCW silver light alloy wheels.
In terms of what you can't easily see, the growth in size has led to a longer wheelbase and wider track than the old JCW Convertible, with the aerodynamics supposedly 'developed on the basis of well-established racing expertise'. That physical increase means there's apparently more room within, while the boot capacity swells to 215 litres with the hood up and 160 litres top down.
Interior
The Convertible is of high specification inside, dominated by some attractive sports seats, with JCW sporty trim to be seen on the dashboard. A JCW leather steering wheel also takes pride of place, which is fitted with paddle shifts if you opt for the automatic version.
MINI promises a high level of standard equipment for its range-topping Convertible, although of course there will be plenty of scope for (expensive) personalisation. The rear seats have a split backrest as standard, hopefully maximising whatever practicality the MINI JCW Convertible possesses in terms of cargo-carrying capacity.
Mechanicals
The JCW uses a development of the 2.0-litre, four-cylinder TwinPower Turbo engine as seen in the MINI Cooper S variant (the next one down the Convertible tree), but here it kicks out an extra 39hp compared to that car. That leaves us with 231hp at 5,200- to 6,000rpm, with 320Nm of torque from 1,250- to 4,800rpm; that's 20hp up on its predecessor, as well. Performance is therefore rapid, with 0-100km/h coming up in 6.6 seconds for the standard-fit six-speed manual, or 6.5 seconds on the optional six-speed Steptronic auto, with 80-120km/h in just 6.1 seconds on either car.
You do lose a bit of top speed on the Steptronic, with a 240km/h maximum compared to the manual's 242km/h, but there's another benefit to going for the self-shifter: better efficiency figures. The manual's 43.5mpg (6.5 litres/100km) and 152g/km CO2 are outshone by the auto's 47.9mpg (5.9 litres/100km) and 138g/km.
Elsewhere, the MINI JCW Convertible gets a Brembo brake system, speed-sensitive Servotronic steering, Dynamic Stability Control with Dynamic Traction Control, an Electronic Differential Lock Control and the option of Dynamic Damper Control.
Anything else?
Options for the MINI JCW Convertible will include larger alloys (up to 18 inches), head-up display, a rear-view camera, Comfort Access, a MINI Excitement Package with logo projection from the exterior mirrors, exterior decals and more. We'll bring you full Irish prices, specifications and a launch date just as soon as they're confirmed. In the meantime, read our review of the hard-topped MINI JCW here.