We didn’t want to break the embargo today but now MINI has released the official press kit for the forthcoming F56 MINI John Cooper Works Hardtop. From the BMW Group press kit: MINI has carried a passion for motor racing in its genes for 55 years and this*is expressed more intensely than ever before in […] More...
The key to having a real winner.... Hit three things.... Looks, performance, price.... Here's the F56 JCW..... Sounds like the performance is not going to be much better than the F56S..... Expecting price to be higher than it should.... And looks..... Well, not so much... MINI er BMW.... What were you thinking... You can have a nasty look.... But if performance and price are spot on you can still have a winner... Sort of... You have the wrong team working on product development.... Competition is much better... Yeah, even with pedestrian safety....
Yep, this still doesnt change my opinion on the F56. I would take the JCW 2.0 motor in the Porkchop, but they can keep everything else.
The seats match the front of the car. MINIs new design language outside & in I guess. :confused5: 2015 Mini John Cooper Works: This Is It
OH.... OH.... Question for the MINI JCW product designers..... "HOW FAST CAN YOU IMPLEMENT CHANGE".... IT'S HAPPENING: Ford CEO Confirms The Focus RS Is Coming To America
It's been confirmed for awhile now, but the big question is price. It's almost definite that it will NOT be AWD, the car testing on the ring is FWD with a tricked out traction control. They will be tough to get though, and probably will be sold at a premium above MSRP. Frustrating, as I had an in on one at a dealership at MSRP if they ever came stateside, but that dealership was sold to another group and I'm on the outside looking in. I can't wait to see this. MINI is in a bit of a bind, as the Golf R and the RS are light years ahead in performance. What remains to be seen is how close they are in price, and there's a pretty good chance both the Golf and Focus will be a tier above in that regard which may save MINI's bacon at least slightly.
The MINI F56 will sell on its good looks alone. :wink: As far as costs go the MINI has its price going up. I agree that getting an early RS will require additional payments to greedy dealers. After a while those same dealers will be discounting them. Patience pay$.
Yeah, but the Mini also weighs 700 lbs less than the Golf R and RS. I'd take a lighter, more-tossable car with a little less power, than some big heavy brute of a car. I can agree that it's ugly, though. So many vents, holes, slats, and textures... :frown2:
The RS is not a big heavy brute car, which is exactly why they'll put the Mustang engine in it and not detune it; this car is not considered as a car people will cross shop with the big heavy brute Mustang, so the engine will be maximized for performance, unlike what Porsche did to the Cayman to keep it slowerer than the Carrera. It will be every bit tossable and more than the MINI, the weight/HP ratio will be better in the RS, and if it's anywhere close to the skid pad numbers of the last RS, it'll handle better, both in cornering, accelerating and braking; I suspect it will be much better than the previous RS in all those regards. The performance goals on this car are high. It'll be in quite another league than the MINI if they pull it off. To be honest, I'm not sure how "tossable" the MINI even is anymore, with all the electro nannies.
Well, anything with a 3000+ lb curb weight, is heavy. The RS will be heavier than the ST, which already weighs in at 3200 lbs. Plus, to corral all that power through the front wheels (if they don't make it AWD), it will have the incredibly complex and heavy Revoknuckle setup, which mitigates torque steer, but hurts overall steering feel. I've driven the Focus ST, previously owned a 2013 GTI, and I recently drove the F56 Mini, too. And I bought a GP over all of them. The F56 still feels light on it's feet if a little low on power; the ST is aggressive and punchy, but feels heavy and eats front tires at an alarming rate; and the GTI is a fun 8/10s car that isn't quite as focused as the Focus. I'd just love to see automakers focus more on shedding weight than simply boosting power. I love quick cars as much as the next guy, but I also love cars that are willing to dance, too.
Everything I've read about the previous RS mentions it's handling--this is a nimble car, and this one should be more so. The skid pad and slalom won't lie, and I'll bet they'll beat the JCW's significantly. There is a difference between FEELING nimble, and BEING nimble, just like on the track what feels fast often isn't. A Cayman, much heavier than a MINI, feels more nimble and is definitely more tossable, as is the FR-S/BRZ. Weight isn't everything; weight distribution and engine placement can more than make up for it, as can other factors, such as traction control, wheel base and stance, etc... If all you want is tossability, a Miata would be your best choice. But people want more than that.... The RS also from the ring clips sounds like a race car. Maybe the GP will be something to consider, but I'll bet that will be a rung below the Golf R and RS too. The MINI is being seriously outclassed, and it's a shame they don't have the balls to do something more track inspired, even moreso than the GP.
I have a feeling MINI isn't really concerned about the RS performance competition.... Sure.... They will offer the Cooper and S and JCW each with minimal bumps in HP..... MINI wants to sell a ton of packages with a million different options.... They want to sell "being connected".... They see sales potential to the young "hip" crowd with their iphones.... Sure.... They will sell you and S or a JCW.... Crank the CPU out of the factory for a little here and a little there increase in HP (but never too close to the BMW).... The special "stickers" will be the sign you have the "hot" model... And they will come out with a bunch of "specials".... And at the end of the model year they will put lipstick on a GP.... They are getting bigger and heavier with more entertainment gadgets being added.... Backup cameras... Self park next? When they dropped the aluminum trailing arm on the F56 in favor of a heavy steel arm, I knew it was the harbinger of things to come... They want to sell color, texture and happiness.... The money is in the "youness"..... Not a high performance MINI..... They are kind of stuck with the JCW heritage... So that will always be an option.... I'll bet we hear less and less of the "Bulldog" stance or "Go-kart handling".... The crew that was responsible for the front bumper on the S or JCW wasn't designing for performance.... They just wanted something that kind of maybe looked the performance part... "Hey... On the "S".... "Lets go with a turbo spool depression and fit it around the fog lights".... "Yeah" and on the JCW.... "Because it's the HOT one".... Lets go with a fricking bunch of air scoops..... MINI is simply going where the money is....