This current generation of MINI Cooper is starting to feel a bit old. It’s almost six years old now and, while that’s not particularly ancient, it is about the time BMW starts looking for replacements. Especially when its competition (Volkswagen Golf, Audi A3, Hyundai Veloster N) are all much newer. However, due to Covid and some other financial issues, MINI might be looking to extend this current generation of car just a bit longer. To keep it looking fresh, though, it might be getting an update, which may have just been caught doing some camouflaged testing. (We don’t own the spy photos but they can be seen here)
In these photos, we see what looks like a slightly updated MINI John Cooper Works. We can tell it’s the sportier JCW model, rather than a standard Cooper, due to its dual center-mounted exhausts, sportier front bumper and the fact that there’s a John Cooper Works badge on it that’s been taped over…
Judging by the front end in these photos, the bumper and air intakes are new, lending a sportier, more exciting look. The air intakes that flank the bumper on either side are now vertical and seem more aggressive than before. Out back, there’s some camouflage on the rear bumper, surrounding the exhausts but there don’t seem to be any significant changes to the back end.
We can’t see the interior in these photos, so we don’t know if there have been any changes to not. It might get the new digital instrument panel from the MINI Cooper SE and maybe a tweak to the MINI-style iDrive screen. Other than that, we don’t think there will be any changes worth noting on the inside.
It’s a bit odd to see a BMW product get a second facelift, as the car is usually just replaced with a newer model altogether by the time a second facelift would be necessary. However, if the current MINI Cooper needs to stick around for a little while longer, it’s certainly going to need some sprucing up.
[Source: Car Scoops]
