It’s been a busy week for the BMW Group in India. In addition to launching the long-wheelbase iX1 and the G45 X3, it also unveiled a new MINI flavor. The Cooper S (F66) with a combustion engine gains the John Cooper Works Pack. The hot hatch is imported to the world’s most populous country and can be ordered only online. It costs the equivalent of $64,500, and deliveries start in April.
MINI intends to sell the feisty city car in either this Midnight Black paint or Legend Grey. Regardless of choice, the Cooper S with JCW Pack gets the side mirror caps and roof in black. Those 17-inch wheels also have a dark look, as does the vegan leather used inside the cabin. Despite the JCW branding, this is merely a cosmetic package since the car doesn’t have a more powerful engine.
Consequently, the turbocharged 2.0-liter unit produces 201 hp and 300 Nm (221 lb-ft) of torque. It’s enough four-cylinder muscle for a 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) run in 6.6 seconds. Flat out, the Cooper S can reach 150 mph (242 km/h). As with all other gas MINIs from the new generation, it’s automatic only. Output goes to the front axle exclusively through a seven-speed, dual-clutch transmission.
For those who want to level up, MINI has launched an actual John Cooper Works model. It’s unclear whether the full-fat JCW will come to India. In the other regions where it has been confirmed, the performance hatch delivers 228 hp and 380 Nm (280 lb-ft). The sprint time drops to 6.4 seconds, and the top speed increases to 155 mph (250 km/h).
The BMW Group brand has pledged to go purely electric around the end of the decade. It can only mean the Oxford-based marque will not do another generation of the three-door hardtop with combustion engines. Consequently, this is the last hurrah for a MINI with gas power. We can say the same about the other British automaker sitting underneath BMW’s corporate umbrella. Rolls-Royce will also abandon combustion engines around 2030.
Source: MINI
