New MINI Gets John Cooper Works Kit
October 8, 2007 by George Skentzos
Due to the popularity of the MINI John Cooper Works CHALLENGE, MINI have introduced a John Cooper Works Tuning Kit for the MINI Cooper S to create a road-going version of their CHALLENGE race cars.
The John Cooper Works Tuning Kit increases the output of the 1.6-litre twin-scroll turbo engine to 141kW – a 10 percent increase.
Maximum torque is also increased by 10Nm to 250Nm between 1,700 and 5,000rpm, whilst the brief overboost function spirals the torque to 270Nm between 1,750 and 4,500 rpm for maximum “overtaking” potential.
The resulting acceleration improvement derived from the John Cooper Works Tuning Kit hurtles the MINI from 0 to 100km/h in a rapid 6.8 seconds – down from the previous 7.1 seconds – while in-gear acceleration is also improved.
“The John Cooper Works kit turns a fast car into a real flier. And now with the kit’s more affordable price point I am sure we will experience a high level of demand from our owners,” said Justin Hocevar, National Manager, MINI.
Compared to the standard MINI Cooper S, the top speed has now reached 232km/h, up from 225km/h.
According to the European composite cycle test, fuel consumption and emissions remain unchanged from the standard MINI Cooper S which returns 6.9L/100km and just 164g/km of CO2.
The John Cooper Works Tuning Kit consists of a freer flowing exhaust, a sports high-flow air filter and intake box; and an electronic engine management system optimized for greater power efficiency.
A larger aperture on the airbox allows more fresh air to enter whilst creating a more powerful induction noise.
Differentiating the worked Cooper S to the standard model may be difficult with discrete badging in the front grille, tailgate, and another unseen on the airbox which should leave many a traffic-light loser staring in disbelief.
As with the previous generation car, the John Cooper Works Tuning Kit is only available via the nationwide network of MINI Garages. Fitting time is approximately half a day, a shorter time frame because there is no cylinder head exchange this time.
The kit is available from $3,800 not including fitting which must be carried out at a MINI Garage.
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So where exactly did the $3800 price come from? What exactly is included? Is that just for the engine tune or does it also include chassis tuning? I’ve checked the mini website but don’t see anything about an R56 tuning kit on there :S
The new Mini’s are alot bigger than the old ones and this one look’s good, but could have more power.
I was just quoted today (here in Perth, WA) that the Tuning Kit would cost me roughly $11,300. Doesn’t appear to be anywhere as close as what it says in the article above.