Mini's long-awaited John Cooper Works Concept car is set to make its debut at the Detroit Motor Show next month, but the firm released details of the new car on November 18 – what would have been the birthday of the original car's designer, Sir Alec Issigonis.
New images of the concept car show us what the production version of the top-of-the-range JCW car is likely to look like.
The eye-pleasing ‘supermini’ offers a number of design features that separate it from less costly models. A special bumper, black grilles and red highlights have been added, while big air intakes are found where the fog lamps are on other models.
Owners of the new production JCW are also likely to get unique side skirts, 18 inch alloy wheels, a spoiler and a diffuser-incorporating bumper. Painted "Bright Highways Grey", the car has been "finished with a clear coat and the resulting lustrous sheen of the paintwork further accentuates the eye-catching structures of its pigment layer", according to the Oxford based car maker.
The outgoing JCW model develops 208bhp, which in the 2014 version is expected to be upped to 220hp.
Mini fans keen to jump into the driving seat of the new JCW will get more details when the Detroit Motor Show gets underway.
The design of this new model is perhaps a reminder of why the Mini brand has done so well; because its range is so well designed. Certainly, people are not buying these cars for their bullet-proof reliability; certainly not if they read the recent Warranty Direct report on engine failures. In that data, Mini had a roadside assistance-attracting 1 in 40 engine failure rate – placing it third worst on the list.
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