Amid warm sunny skies out at Gamuda Cove, MINI Malaysia recently hosted a dynamic celebration of the latest complete John Cooper Works (JCW) range, commemorating the heritage of the British racing & sports tuning outfit founded by its namesake owner in 2002. With a rich motorsport legacy dating back to winning the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally – a true David vs. Goliath feat that astounded the motoring world – the newest JCW models were touted to retain the same pure performance & emotive driving passion.
Benjamin Nagel, Managing Director of BMW Group Malaysia said, “It was an incredible experience to have been able to bring the thrill of MINI, maximised to its most exciting extent for both MINIacs and driving enthusiasts alike with the MINI JCW Track Day. With the full line-up of our new JCW additions brought to life on the track in both petrol and electrified variants, it’s here that our principles of Technology Openness and the Power of Choice truly came together, combining high-octane energy, razor-sharp go-kart handling, and pure driving excitement into powerful, corner-hunting machines. Getting behind the wheel of a JCW model was a powerful reminder of what makes a MINI driving experience so unique – the responsiveness, the precision through every corner, and the unmistakable sense of connection between driver and vehicle. It is our hope that participants and MINIacs alike see this event as a clear reflection of the direction we are driving towards, where passion, precision, and innovation continue to shape the future of MINI and the JCW experience.”
Three new JCW models starred at the MINI JCW Track Day with their dynamically fresh, purist designs characterized by premium detailing to reflect their rich motorsport heritage. The New MINI JCW aimed to deliver a high-octane driving experience with its lightweight build, increased power and unequalled handling likened to being that of a big go-kart. Meanwhile, the first ever All-Electric MINI JCW and MINI JCW Aceman looked towards the future with their cutting edge electric drivetrains, seeking to expose a wider audience to the MINI exhilaration while maintaining the same fun to drive performance allure that has so captivated die-hard MINI enthusiasts all these years.
We were afforded the opportunity to put these new JCW models through their paces with demanding tests of their control, precision & braking under dynamic loads at the MINI JCW Track Zone. Its challengingly technical layout was inspired by Italy’s legendary Kartdromo Parma circuit, famed for hosting Karting World Championships and European Championships, while also being the training grounds of future Formula 1 legends including Ayrton Senna & Lewis Hamilton.
The first new JCW I sampled turned out to be the All-Electric MINI JCW, immediately impressing with its boldly sporting aesthetics, aero optimized elements and Chilli Red colour accents. Its rear end especially is distinguished from its predecessor by the triangular shaped tail-lights & body-coloured rear diffuser blade.
Once inside, it felt right at home with a real sense of having been designed around the driver. A more uniquely characterful sense than before was imbued by the JCW-specific knitted black & red dashboard surfacing, chequered flag style trim panel perforation details, and black leather upholstered front seats with multicoloured knitted shoulder fabric & red accent stitching.
Dominating things in the cockpit’s center was MINI’s new Interaction Unit with its 240 mm high resolution OLED touchscreen display that governs the majority of the car’s functions. Exploring my way through the system, I found that it didn’t exactly have a very user friendly interface: neither my esteemed colleague or myself could figure out how to turn off the somewhat distracting artificial turbine noises emanating from the speakers every time I got on the throttle. As I remarked that day, if you’re going to have an EV then embrace it for what it is and make its silent smoothness a celebrated part of that whole premium driving experience, rather than attempting to masquerade it as something it clearly isn’t. Perhaps the MINI team could take these factors into consideration for the next facelift model.
Fortunately driving modes are selected via a knurled metal switch placed beneath the display alongside other key physical controls, with each one exhibiting a satisfying tactility in their physical engagement. On our brief drive to the track area, the All-Electric Mini JCW gave the impression that it would be more than up to the task of brisk urban driving that most owners would likely use it for. Acceleration from the 258 hp & 350 Nm electric drivetrain was smoothly responsive, while braking at these low to medium speeds was reassuringly solid at all times.
Pushing on with dynamic handling at the track area however, was where things began to somewhat unravel. With the team having claimed the electric JCW models to be as fun to drive as the performantly raw petrol MINI JCW and its thrilling go-kart dynamics, my expectations were certainly there that it would live up to that billing. And yet, through the track area’s twisting turns, the 2-door electric hatchback never really gave that kart-like sense of being sharply eager to attack the bends or dive into corner apexes. Understeer was the order of the day instead, rather than being the corner hunting beast it had been touted to be. More concerningly still, the electric powered steering didn’t provide much fingertip feedback, making it tricky to sense what the front tyres were up to or where their tractive limits were.
Even once left to my own devices when my colleague disembarked to shoot some dynamic video footage, I never felt fully comfortable pushing on in the All-Electric MINI JCW. It certainly had impressive straight line accelerative punch, but the degree to which I had to slow it down to make it through the turns without inadvertently eating a traffic cone proved to be rather frustrating. This was especially so for such an iconic car whose previous generations had been lauded for their deftly flickable handling and sharp steering feel, most notably the 2001 Frank Stephenson-designed MINI Cooper S.
To be fair, it’s not to say that this was an entirely bad car; perhaps its tyres were no longer in their best state. We had also been pre-warned that with some rainfall the previous day, the track area was likely to be sandy & somewhat slippery in areas; something that undoubtedly played a part in affecting the cars’ handling feel.
Or, it could also be that no matter how much electronic trickery you throw at any car, there’s just no hiding the fact that this one weighs in at north of 1.6 tons. For the record, the petrol MINI JCW’s claimed kerb weight comes in at 320 kg less than its all-electric sibling, while being barely down on output at 231 hp. Time constraints meant that I didn’t have the chance to give it and its precise handling a shot, but the combustion engined JCW is in all likelihood the better choice if spirited fun driving is your use case more of the time.
Things didn’t much improve with the All-Electric MINI JCW Aceman, but perhaps that’s no surprise given that it’s more of a compact crossover than sporty hot hatch, weighing in at a claimed 100 kg more than the electric 2-door. It was much happier back on the road, picking up the pace with enough verve at every press of the accelerator. Tackling a U-turn on the return leg of our guided route at slightly above walking pace was no challenge whatsoever for the Aceman & its sure footed traction, although you could still feel its heft.
Both Electric JCW models exhibited decent ride comfort and well judged damping, with neither speed bumps nor less smooth road sections inducing any particularly noticeable discomfort. For the contemporary urbanite who’s after a premier daily driver with that unmistakable JCW visual DNA, coupled to a memorably characterful in-cabin experience unlike any other car in their segments, they would both be more than satisfactory choices. If you’re a weekend apex warrior who also occasionally indulges taking the longer, more interesting route to or from work though, then the petrol MINI JCW would probably be the better choice.
