Minimum Resistance

IF GREAT ISN’T GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU, MINI MIGHT JUST HAVE AN ANSWER NOW

- Raunak Ajinkya

What’s that? The regular Coo-per S not quite working out for you? Ever heard of a little outfit called John Cooper Works, then? Well, then prepare to shell out roughly 10 lakh more for what is undeniably the Cooper S turned to 11. The real deal is finally here, and the Cooper JCW will spit out 228 bhp and 32.6 kgm from its 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo-petrol to add bucketloads of appeal to your grocery runs.

You get a whole load of add-ons to justify that extra money, of course. There’s contrast coloring on the roof, the mirror caps, the brake calipers, the badging and lots of other bits and bobs around the car. What you see on these pages is the car equipped with 17-inch wheels, but there’s also an optional 18-inch set that you could, well, opt for. It’d sure look better, but Mini itself suggests sticking to 17s knowing what our roads are made of. Other ways to differentiate the JCW side skirts, sportier bumpers, a roof spoiler, and the centrally-mounted chrome exhaust tips. My favorite bit on the car really has to be the full-LED headlamps and the Union Jack tail-lamp design. Just something ridiculously cool about the level of detailing Mini has done here.

On the inside, your eye will immediately go to the new gear lever and the bucket seats that are only on the JCW spec. Sadly, there’s still no power adjust for the seats, but it’s a small price to pay in the larger scheme of things. Wait, why am I rambling on about these inessential things?