Mini's Biggest Gets the John Cooper Works Treatment, Becomes Brand's Most Powerful Ride

by Matt Posky

Published: January 18th, 2017

Mini’s largest model is about to get the most powerful engine currently available to the brand from its parent company, BMW. The company will offer up its 2018 Countryman as the latest John Cooper Works model, adorned with polarizing paint jobs and a powerful 2.0-liter turbo.

While the idea of a performance crossover might seem like an oxymoron, as well as being a bit impractical — especially considering Mini already makes a quicker and more nimble JCW Cooper with the same engine — there’s a precedent of the concept working.

Second-generation Countrymans undergoing the John Cooper Works treatment receive a transversely mounted direct-injection turbo four-cylinder making 228 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. Mini claims the motor will send the JCW Countryman screaming to sixty in 6.2 seconds. Peak torque comes on at 1,450 rpm.

That acceleration number trumps the Cooper S Countryman by almost a full second, but the lightweight two-door Mini Cooper JCW will remain the brand’s best performer. Despite being a little down on torque, the substantially smaller hardtop makes the same horsepower and boats slightly better acceleration.

The John Cooper Works Countryman brings All4 all-wheel drive, a sport suspension, Brembo brakes and 18-inch alloy wheels. Other standard equipment includes keyless entry, panoramic moonroof, backup camera, and rear-facing parking sensors.

A driving mode selector is also standard, allowing drivers to customize engine note, throttle response, steering weight, and transmission behavior. If you option in dynamic damper control, the selector also lets you adjust suspension stiffness on a whim.

Stylistic touches include borderline gaudy JCW-branded sport seats, a JCW-branded gear selector, and a JCW-branded sports steering wheel on the inside. Outside accents will be optional contrasting paint schemes and John Cooper Works themed badging.

Mini unveiled a redesigned Countryman in October, hoping its larger size and crossover characteristics would help solve the brand’s sales slump in the United States. Sales volume peaked in 2013 with 66,502 units and has suffered a gradual decline ever since. Last year, Mini sold 52,030 cars.

The new 2018 Mini John Cooper Works Countryman will go on sale in April.

[Images: BMW Group]

#CompactCrossovers #JohnCooperWorks #MINI #MINICOOPER #MINICountryman

Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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Quentin on Jan 19, 2017

It will be interesting to see where they go with the plug in version. Good job on adding all the standard features that we had to get optional on my wife's Clubman S All4. The JCW Clubman is the same way. I think it would have been less than a $2k increase to get the JCW Clubman from what our S listed MSRP.

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05lgt on Jan 21, 2017

no hints at cost from the press release?

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Oberkanone How long do I have to stay in this job before I get a golden parachute?I'd lower the price of the V-Series models. Improve the quality of interiors across the entire line. I'd add a sedan larger then CT5. I'd require a financial review of Celestiq. If it's not a profit center it's gone. Styling updates in the vision of the XLR to existing models. 2+2 sports coupe woutd be added. Performance in the class of AMG GT and Porsche 911 at a price just under $100k. EV models would NOT be subsidized by ICE revenue.
NJRide Let Cadillac be Cadillac, but in the context of 2024. As a new XT5 owner (the Emerald Green got me to buy an old design) I would have happy preferred a Lyriq hybrid. Some who really like the Lyriq's package but don't want an EV will buy another model. Most will go elsewhere. I love the V6 and good but easy to use infotainment. But I know my next car will probably be more electrified w more tech.I don't think anyone is confusing my car for a Blazer but i agree the XT6 is too derivative. Frankly the Enclave looks more prestigious. The Escalade still has got it, though I would love to see the ESV make a comeback. I still think GM missed the boat by not making a Colorado based mini-Blazer and Escalade. I don't get the 2 sedans. I feel a slightly larger and more distinctly Cadillac sedan would sell better. They also need to advertise beyond the Lyriq. I don't feel other luxury players are exactly hitting it out of the park right now so a strengthened Cadillac could regain share.
CM Korecko Cadillacs traditionally have been opulent, brash and leaders in the field; the "Standard of the World".That said, here's how to fix the brand:[list=1][*]Forget German luxury cars ever existed.[/*][*]Get rid of the astromech droid names and bring back Seville, Deville, Eldorado, Fleetwood and Brougham.[/*][*]End the electric crap altogether and make huge, gas guzzling land yachts for the significant portion of the population that would fight for a chance to buy one.[/*][*]Stop making sports cars and make true luxury cars for those of us who don't give a damn about the environment and are willing to swim upstream to get what we really want.[/*][*]Stop messing around with technology and make well-made and luxurious interiors.[/*][*]Watch sales skyrocket as a truly different product distinguishes itself to the delight of the target market and the damnation of the Sierra Club. Hell, there is no such thing as bad publicity and the "bad guy" image would actually have a lot of appeal.[/*][/list=1]
FreedMike Not surprisingly, I have some ideas. What Cadillac needs, I think, is a statement. They don’t really have an identity. They’re trying a statement car with the Celestiq, and while that’s the right idea, it has the wrong styling and a really wrong price tag. So, here’s a first step: instead of a sedan, do a huge, fast, capable and ridiculously smooth and quiet electric touring coupe. If you want an example of what I’m thinking of, check out the magnificent Rolls-Royce Spectre. But this Cadillac coupe would be uniquely American, it’d be named “Eldorado,” and it’d be a lot cheaper than the $450,000 Spectre – call it a buck twenty-five, with a range of bespoke options for prospective buyers that would make each one somewhat unique. Make it 220 inches long, on the same platform as the Celestiq, give it retro ‘60s styling (or you could do a ‘50s or ‘70s throwback, I suppose), and at least 700 horsepower, standard. Why electric? It’s the ultimate throwback to ‘60s powertrains: effortlessly fast, smooth, and quiet, but with a ton more horsepower. It’s the perfect drivetrain for a dignified touring coupe. In fact, I’d skip any mention of environmental responsibility in this car’s marketing – sell it on how it drives, period.  How many would they sell? Not many. But the point of the exercise is to do something that will turn heads and show people what this brand can do.  Second step: give the lineup a mix of electric and gas models, and make Cadillac gas engines bespoke to the brand. If they need to use generic GM engine designs, fine – take those engines and massage them thoroughly into something special to Cadillac, with specific tuning and output. No Cadillac should leave the factory with an engine straight out of a Malibu or a four-banger Silverado. Third step: a complete line-wide interior redo. Stop the cheapness that’s all over the current sedans and crossovers. Just stop it. Use the Lyriq as a blueprint – it’s a big improvement over the current crop and a good first step. I’d also say Cadillac has a good blend of screen-controlled and switch-controlled user interfaces; don’t give into the haptic-touch and wall-to-wall screen thing. (On the subject of Caddy interiors – as much as I bag on the Celestiq, check out the interior on that thing. Wow.)Fourth step: Blackwing All The Things – some gas, others electric. And keep the electric/gas mix so buyers have a choice.Fifth step: be patient. That’s not easy, but if they’re doing a brand reset, it’ll take time. 
NJRide So if GM was serious about selling this why no updates for so long? Or make something truly unique instead of something that looked like a downmarket Altima?