Faster and more rounded than any ‘Works’ Mini before it. Still a committed prospect – to buy and to use – but rewarding to drive The new 228bhp Mini John Cooper Works hot hatchback: the fastest-accelerating and most powerful Mini yet made, since you asked.The first properly hot Mini derivative benefitting from BMW’s move from 1.6- to 2.0-litres of swept volume, the JCW trumps its predecessor by transformative-looking margins – 10% on peak power, and 23% on torque. New pistons, turbo, induction and exhaust systems deliver those output gains over and above the Cooper S.The overhaul to the JCW’s running chassis and driveline is even more thorough – although, just like last Mini GP, the JCW shuns a proper mechanical limited slip differential for a brake-actuated torque vectoring setup.The front suspension gets uprated springs and dampers, new tube-shaped anti-roll bars, lightweight support bearings, strengthened and lightened supports and wishbones, and triple-path strut mounts. The multi-link rear suspension has also been lightened and toughened up.Drive finds it way to the front wheels via a ‘split’ system of driveshafts, in which an intermediate propshaft running underneath the engine allows for the fitment of equal-length halfshafts for each driven wheel – and more consistent steering feedback as a result. Braking’s by 330mm Brembo iron discs and four-piston calipers up front, and wheels are 17in alloys as standard, with 18s an option.Beside that choice of wheel, variable damper control is the most dynamically influential option on the car, substituting the standard passive shocks for switchable units with twin reservoirs, which you can firm up using the car’s ‘Sport’ drive mode. Our test car had them fitted.
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