By Amanda Mfuphi

Mini has revealed the updated Mini John Cooper Works hot hatch with fresh design accents, extended standard equipment, a new operating system and attractive equipment package options to customize the vehicle.

Exterior

At the front, the refreshed Mini John Cooper Works model features prominent round LED headlights and a hexagonal radiator grille, which features a red crossbar and now extends far downwards. At the bottom of the radiator grille are two enlarged cooling air openings to ensure optimum temperature control of the drive and brake systems in extremely sporty driving situations. The model-specific side scuttles on the front side panels and the rear apron, which now features a distinctive diffuser to optimise airflow in the rear area of the underbody, have also been redesigned.

At the rear, the John Cooper Works has a sports exhaust system with two 85-millimetre stainless-steel tailpipes. The Cooper Works rides on 17-inch John Cooper Works light-alloy wheels as standard with an optional upgrade to 18-inch alloy wheels being available. The John Cooper Works model features four-piston fixed caliper brakes with internally ventilated discs on the front wheels and red brake callipers bearing the John Cooper Works logo provide powerful deceleration and eye-catching colour accents behind the light-alloy wheels.

In terms of exterior paint finish, the Mini John Cooper Works has a choice of Chili Red, Rebel Green, available exclusively for the MINI John Cooper Works, or Rooftop Grey metallic.

Interior

The MINI John Cooper Works features a redesigned centre instrument with an 8.8-inch touch display in black panel design as standard, as well as a new operating system whose modern graphic display makes the selection and control of vehicle functions, audio programme, navigation, communication, and apps even more intuitive. The new model features Live Widgets which can be selected by means of a swiping motion on the touch display. The interior surfaces are in Piano Black high gloss, Dinamica/Leather upholstery in Carbon Black for the John Cooper Works sports seats.

Individual wishes in the areas of comfort, connectivity and driver assistance can be fulfilled in a particularly targeted manner with the newly compiled equipment packages. These include new options such as steering wheel heating, lane departure warning included in the Driving Assistant and the Stop & Go function for Active Cruise Control. Park Distance Control (PDC) with sensors at the rear of the vehicle has been added to the standard equipment of the MINI John Cooper Works.

The displays on the centre instrument and on the optionally available multifunctional instrument display on the steering column can be shown in two different colour worlds. In “Lounge” mode, the display surfaces appear in relaxing shades of blue and turquoise. Switching to “Sport” mode causes the screen backgrounds to glow in red and anthracite.

Suspension

The model-specific sporty suspension set-up of the updated Mini John Cooper Works contributes to the agile handling, which, according to Mini, not only thrills in fast right-left combinations on the racetrack, but also in winding city traffic. A new version of the Adaptive Suspension is now available as an option, which with its frequency-selective damper technology ensures an optimised balance between sportiness and ride comfort. An additional valve smoothes out pressure peaks within the damper when driving over minor bumps, thereby creating a harmonious driving experience. The necessary adjustment takes place within 50 to 100 milliseconds. Direct contact with the road is maintained during sporty driving. In the Mini John Cooper Works, the new Adaptive Suspension operates with more than ten percent greater damping force than before.

Engine

The refreshed John Cooper Works is powered by a 2.0 litre four-cylinder engine with Mini TwinPower Turbo technology and makes 170 kW of power and 320 Nm of torque. The engine is paired with the 8-speed steptronic sport transmission. The Mini John Cooper Works moves from 0 to 100 km/h in just 6.1 seconds.