The MINI John Cooper Works Paceman, the seventh in the JCW line, will soon be available in showrooms starting March 2013 in the U.S. and not too long after, in the GCC; probably priced at around Dhs 200,000.
There was a time when the “new” BMW-designed Mini was only available as a 3-door hatchback and a convertible. Then, just like every other premium automaker with a penchant for profits, Mini started to expand the line-up and dilute its brand equity with models like the Countryman. Now there’s a new 5-door model joining the range when the redesigned 2014 Mini arrives next year, to succeed where the Clubman failed.
The MINI Paceman, the coupe variant of the Countryman which is also the seventh member of the MINI family has finally made it’s web debut.
Hot-Hatch maker Mini has officially released the spec sheet for their 2013 John Cooper Works GP, which is due to be unveiled at the 2012 Paris Motor Show this month.
While some pro drivers get all the fanfare, it seems there is no shortage of good drivers around the world who can do the impossible. Chinese driver Han Yue has officially broken the record for parallel-parking in the tightest space. Han managed to shave off 7 cm from the record, drifting into a space of just 15 cm longer than his vehicle during an attempt at the May launch in Beijing of a new special edition of the Mini called The Chinese Job. The record has changed hands five times in the past two years, with Patrik Folco holding the previous record of a gap 22 cm longer than the car in April.
Mini has introduced a new motor for their JCW range of cars. The turbocharged 1.6-litre 4-cylinder engine configuration is retained, it even has same the power and torque outputs as the outgoing engine. The only news is that fuel economy and C02 emissions have been improved substantially.
The new-generation Mini John Cooper Works GP was exhibited at the MINI United Festival in France. The specific power and torque figures have not been revealed but the car is claimed to race around the Nurburgring in 8 minutes, 23 seconds, which is a 19-second improvement over the last official time.
We stopped reporting on recalls last March because, firstly, it’s boring news, and secondly, there’s just too many of them. Most publicised recalls are issued according the U.S. NHTSA agency. But we’ve decided to list all the recalls since then, just to make sure we’ve covered them, and potential buyers of these cars can get the whole story, so here goes.
We’re not quite sure of the order of the words in its name, but the short version is we finally got to drive a Mini Coupe, in Cooper S trim no less.
Small van-like vehicles with two seats up front, a partition behind the cockpit and a flat load floor in the back are popular in Europe, for small businesses and what not. It seems Mini wants in on the action, converting the slow-selling Clubman into a car for the working man. And they’ve cleverly named it the Clubvan.