Autoblog

Mini exiting WRC after just one year

Jonathon Ramsey — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 13:29:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Crossover, Mini, Racing

There was a fair bit of hullabaloo two years ago when Mini announced a return to the World Rally Championship for this season, but the road to making that happen has been as rocky as a gravel stage. It spent 2011 developing its JCW Countryman WRC challenger, changing its mind about how it wanted to work with Prodrive, dumped a driver due to budget issues, then registering its entry after the deadline had passed in a ploy that might or might not have been a protest aimed at the WRC promoter.

Mini had stated that it wanted to win the whole championship in 2013, and spent 2011 doing six WRC rounds as development. As it stands for this year, the WRC Team Mini Portugal - paid for by Mini, run by ProDrive - scored 26 points in the first rally at Monte Carlo and has so far blanked the rest of the season. The relationship between Mini and ProDrive appeared to be an ever-contentious affair, at the end of this season, even the money will dry up along with what support there was.

Because it contested every race in the calendar, though, Mini says it has completed the FIA requirements for homologation of the JCW Countryman WRC; meaning that privateers can continue purchasing the car and run it in the WRC. BMW Motorsport is continuing development and parts supply of the 1.6-liter turbo engine, and a report in Autosport indicates that ProDrive will continue to run Minis in the series next year.

The press release below has more info on the whys and wherefores.

Continue reading Mini exiting WRC after just one year

Mini exiting WRC after just one year originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 12 Oct 2012 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Pics Aplenty: 2013 Mini JCW Countryman hits the road

Steven J. Ewing — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Performance, Crossover, Mini

If the 2013 Mini John Cooper Works Countryman gets you all hot and bothered, you're in luck. Mini has just released 191 high-resolution images of its largest JCW offering, sporting its signature black paint job complete with contrasting red stripes, mirrors and roof. We're sure it'll be a total hoot to drive.

And why wouldn't it be? After all, this hotted-up Countryman is powered by a boosted version of Mini's 1.6-liter turbocharged inline-four good for 218 horsepower and a 207 pound-feet of torque, even capable of pumping out 221 lb-ft during momentary stints of overboost. That grunt runs to all four wheels (Mini's All4 all-wheel-drive system is in action here) via either a standard six-speed manual or optional six-speed automatic transmission. Sprinting to 62 miles per hour will take just seven seconds.

There are plenty of upgrades on tap that make this Countryman fitting of the JCW badge, including a sport suspension with MacPherson struts up front and a model-specific central-arm rear axle, upgraded brakes, strengthened anti-roll bars, a 10-millimeter drop in ride height and lightweight 18-inch alloy wheels (19s are optional).

A unique aero kit has been added to ensure that the JCW Countryman looks the part, and inside, the same red-and-black motif has been carried over. Customers will be able to spec optional lounge leather sport seats, and just like the standard Countryman, both the two- and three-passenger rear seating arrangements (read: two chairs or a proper bench) will be offered.

Scroll through the gallery above to see the full smattering of high-res images, and click below for the nitty-gritty details in Mini's press release.

Continue reading Pics Aplenty: 2013 Mini JCW Countryman hits the road

Pics Aplenty: 2013 Mini JCW Countryman hits the road originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 10 Sep 2012 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Mini Countryman JCW blazes a trail over desert and snowy hinterlands

Jonathon Ramsey — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 17:13:00 EST

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Crossover, Mini

The Mini Countryman equipped with the John Cooper Works package is the latest diminutive to be loaded into the brand's eccentric ad machine. As if a 211-horsepower, all-wheel-drive crossover on 18-inch alloys from a brand called "Mini" weren't novel enough, we're admonished to "Expect the unexpected" as the most powerful vehicle it makes is flicked through the desert and the snow.

And that will explain the man on the roof. Well, kinda. See below for the video.

Continue reading Mini Countryman JCW blazes a trail over desert and snowy hinterlands

Mini Countryman JCW blazes a trail over desert and snowy hinterlands originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 09 Mar 2012 17:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

2013 Mini John Cooper Works Countryman packs an up-sized punch

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 21:28:00 EST

Filed under: Performance, Geneva Motor Show, Crossover, Hatchback, Mini

It was only a matter of time before Mini spiced up its Countryman crossover with the application of its go-fast John Cooper Works kit, and it's now made an official debut at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show.

Boasting 211 horsepower and 207 pound-feet of torque (up to 221 on overboost), the 2013 JCW Countryman is the most powerful production machine ever to wear the Mini badge. Those ponies are routed to all four wheels through a six-speed gearbox (either manual or automatic) and can propel the upright box to 60 in as little as seven seconds.

We'll have to wait until the car's official launch this fall to find out for sure if this latest JCW lives up to its storied name, but in the meantime, check out our live photos above and the press release below.

Continue reading 2013 Mini John Cooper Works Countryman packs an up-sized punch

2013 Mini John Cooper Works Countryman packs an up-sized punch originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 06 Mar 2012 21:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Rumormill: Mini could produce John Cooper Works Countryman

Noah Joseph — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:22:00 EST

Filed under: Performance, Crossover, Mini, Rumormill

Mini Countryman - Click above for high-res image gallery

JCW Countryman? Sounds like a chain clothing store you'd find at your local shopping mall, but to automotive enthusiasts - Mini aficionados especially - it could only mean one thing: a performance-oriented version of Mini's just-released crossover.

While the thought of the vaunted John Cooper Works badge being applied to a crossover might seem like sacrilege, that's exactly what Bimmer fans - including those within the company - thought before the debut of the M versions of the X5 and X6 crossovers, and that hasn't stopped those models from reaching production. In the shadow of the oddball X6 M, suddenly a JCW Countryman doesn't seem so strange, now does it?

Considering that the base Countryman's turbo four already churns out 184 horsepower (compared to the 172 hp Cooper S hatch), a Works-prepared Countryman could surpass even the JCW Cooper's 211-hp output, driving through all four wheels. Rather interestingly, more than that could put the Countryman into Subaru WRX territory, but we'll likely have to wait a while to see it come to fruition (if it does at all), with sources pegging its potential release in about two years' time.

Gallery: 2011 Mini Countryman

[Source: Autocar]

Rumormill: Mini could produce John Cooper Works Countryman originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments