2013 Mini John Cooper Works Auto Review (Plus Classics)
Mini’s Pocket Rockets across generations
By Shahzad Sheikh
Some people will look at the pictures featured here and get hung up on one thing, and one thing alone – how much bigger the ‘new’ Mini looks compared to the originals. Well yes, of course it does.
All modern cars do. Just compare the original Fiat 500 with its latest incarnation at this link, and then imagine the first generation Nissan Skyline GT-R parked next to this century’s Godzilla and how about a 1963 Porsche 911 and the new 991 2012 iteration of the iconic sportscar.
Safety dictates, government legislation and humans getting bigger, all mean that the burgeoning of our favourite cars is inevitable. It’s up to the designers, engineers and R&D teams to ensure that the fundamental characteristics of the original are maintained – the 500 is still adorable, the GT-R still Japan’s champion, and the 911 remains the ultimate sportscar.
Winning ways of the new Mini
So what about the new Mini? Well when it first arrived in 2001 replacing the original, it was launched by BMW, and in the eyes of some was tantamount to blasphemy – the German’s building Britain’s best loved car? It would be well-built, sure; efficient, undoubtedly; and soulless… surely.
I was working in the UK at the time and whenever we had a test car in the office, some smart aleck or another would walk into our offices denouncing it: ‘you’ve got one of them new Minis in? It’s all wrong though innit, too big, bet it’s boring too…’
Our response would be simply to throw them the keys and invite them to take it for a drive. They never failed to come back with a grin on their face, happily conceding it was utterly brilliant.
Built to a brief, original Mini dramatically over delivered
And there’s the link right there between this new Mini and its progenitors assembled for this shoot. These two classic Coopers belong to Randy Webb (red Sharjah 9393) and Muhammad Karam Ashraff (grey Dubai A88299) and they are utterly gorgeous.
Not that Sir Alec Issigonis, the designer of the Mini was going for cute and lovable when he was blueprinting the little front-drive car – he was following a brief to bring to production a small, very spacious and extremely economical car as soon as possible in response to the fuel rationing brought on by the Suez Crisis. This he did with the utter brilliance and ingenuity he is justifiably renowned for.
However the fact was that the little car also won its massive market share and popularity due to immense appeal and irresistible charm which ensured a production run from 1959 to 2000, and has even been described as the second most influential car ever, behind the Ford Model T that brought transport to the masses.
So it was affordable to buy and run, remarkably roomy and practical, mechanically robust and simple and everyone loved it, rich or poor. As if that wasn’t enough, Issigonis’ friend John Cooper, who designed and built F1 and rally cars, realised the Mini’s competitive potential.
Winning ways of the Classic Coopers
The Cooper editions arrived in 1961 with a race-tuned engine featuring twin SU Carburettors producing 55bhp, a close-ratio gearbox and front disc brakes. On the road it was a hoot, but in competition it quickly gained a reputation as a giant-slayer both on the circuit and on international rally stages. What it lacked in brute performance compared to rivals, it made up for in agility and the legendary ‘go-kart’ handling.
I remember driving a last of the line Cooper S which by that time had multi-point fuel injection for its 1275cc engine. Nearly 40 years old it was already behind the times in the late naughties as far as safety and construction standards, but it was still way ahead of most upstart ‘hot hatches’ when it came to driver satisfaction and uncanny limpet-like handling.
It didn’t feel old at all, in fact it felt positively youthful and totally invigorating to drive. And judging by the smug smiles on the faces of both Randy and Muhammad, it is evident that even today the classic original induces the sort of glee and provides raw and tingling sensations that few modern cars are capable of.
These original Minis are modern classics and are beautiful, festooned with delightful details and shrouded in honest patina, and proving they are as relevant today as they were in the thrifty fifties, and swinging sixties the red car has even been retro-fitted with a/c and is actually a daily driver for Randy.
Enthralled somewhat by the soft light and dramatic skies highlighting the defiant desirability of the cute couplet, rather helplessly I probably end up spending far too long photographing them, and not quite enough effort goes into snapping the much newer car.
The 2013 performance pinnacle
Turning to the 2013 Mini just as the light starts to fade fast, I realise I’m doing it a gross injustice. This is the John Cooper Works (JCW) edition of the Mini hatchback, and this particular edition is brilliantly presented in Midnight Black Metallic with a red roof. It sits very menacingly on the 17-inch black wheels, and the front spoiler, side skirts with the claw-like scoops and the wing on the roof, set this apart as a Mini not to be messed with.
All new Minis are great to drive, let’s be honest. So there’s only slight degrees of greatness to be added in the performance versions which are the Cooper, the Cooper S and finally the JCW. All are tremendously entertaining, but the JCW is the performance pinnacle with its sports suspension, Brembo brakes and its uprated engine – in this case putting out 211bhp for a 0-100kph time of 6.7secs.
I’ve driven these before and already know it’s going to be a big grin inducer. Dropping into the car, my preferred bolt-upright seating position means I have no trouble getting comfortable despite my lanky frame, and even with the panoramic sunroof on this car, there are no headroom issues.
The quirky toggle switches and the massive central instrument panel are all present and pointless – but contribute to the cockpit character of the car, even if it is somewhat contrived. Start it up and it’s buzzy and boisterous and the performance differential over the regular Cooper S is immediately apparent, as it always is with the JCWs.
Fast, fun and funky
Predictably it handles true to go-kart clichés, sticking to the tarmac in limpet-like fashion and darting into corners like an overeager puppy. The steering is feel-some the responses are almost reflexive. All the stuff that makes the Mini fun to drive, remain. Except for one element.
Okay, perhaps it’s not the vital element, but personally I’ve always felt that a Mini must be manual. This car is not. For the first time ever, the JCW comes with an auto. It’s a six-speed box with paddleshifts or the option of selecting gears through the lever.
Top speed is down by a mere 2kph to 236kph and acceleration is slower to 100kph by only two-tenths of a second. Fuel consumption increases from 6.6L/100km to 7.1L/100km.
Despite these very slight compromises, the transmission really isn’t bad actually, it’s snappy and quick, responding best to manually-selected inputs through the paddles (push to change down, pull to change up).
Verdict
Frankly speaking there is nothing really to complain about with the new setup, it’s been made suitably aggressive to fit with car’s character, however, I just can’t shake the conviction that whilst being highly entertained, I’m still missing out on a truly satisfying drive, having been denied a clutch and an h-pattern gearchange.
The new JCW is a hugely appealing small car, that remains fun, funky and fabulous as always, it’s also fast and ferocious and now being available as an automatic, further strengthens its appeal – however if I went for it, I’d still save myself AED4000 and go for the manual version instead. In fact, I’d try to save more and go for the year-old version I’ve just seen advertised on Dubizzle.com for just AED120,000 – a saving of AED50k.
On the other hand you could have yourself an even bigger blast in an even smaller package for considerably less money, with several classic Minis advertised on the same site for prices ranging from AED15,000-35,000, including a convertible version in the UAE, priced AED65,000 – now that’ll get you noticed! The two you see on this page, however, are not for sale.
Specs
Mini Hatchback John Cooper Works Auto
How much? AED174,000 ($47,300)
Engine: 1.6-litre, four-cylinder, 211bhp @ 6000rpm, 192lb ft @ 1850-5600rpm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel Economy: 7.1L/100km
Performance: 0-100kph 6.7 seconds, Top speed 236kph
Weight: 1260kg
Let us your experiences, stories and views of the Mini (new and old) below. Which would you have?
