BMW officially acquires the John Cooper Works brand

BMW has been working on this deal for some time now, and with the level of involvement in design, engineering and testing steadily increasing, the inevitable has become reality. In a deal set to become effective in January 2007, BMW has acquired the rights to the John Cooper Works name to further strengthen the MINI brand.

In what could easily become MINI's equivalent of the BMW "M' brand, JCW now has the engineering and development resources of BWM at their disposal, ensuring the John Cooper Works models a pivotal role in the overall MINI brand strategy well into the future.

[Source: Forbes.com via MotoringFile]