The first thing that goofy wing made me think of was the weird winged hats some nuns have.
Like this
The first thing that goofy wing made me think of was the weird winged hats some nuns have.
Like this
So how bad of an idea is a 2009 Mini Clubman JCW? https://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/d/columbus-mini-clubman-jcw/6815660708.html
docwyte said:Considering the Focus RS makes 350hp and the next Golf R will be making ~400hp, a 300hp Mini seems....underwhelming. Especially given the price and the fact that the back seats are useless.
Whoa, what? They are putting the 2.5L I5 in the next Golf R?
Now if they'd offer it in a two-door hatch instead of 4. I hate how pedestrian the Golf looks, but I also don't have $70k for an Audi TT RS.
In reply to z31maniac :
I've had my ear to the ground for awhile on the Mk8 Golf R. It's going to look more aggressive to differentiate from the GTi and will have close to 400hp. They've been testing a Mk7 R mule at the 'Ring with the RS3 motor in it but haven't said if they're going to use that.
There's also rumblings about the current 2 liter with a 48 volt hybrid unit.
Personally I hope they either use the RS3 motor or build the current 2 liter and strap on a big turbo. As it is, the current motor with a tune (so more boost) makes 350hp. So it wouldn't take much work to pump it up to 400.
If they put in a hybrid power plant I'm no longer a buyer.
Considering the Focus RS makes 350hp and the next Golf R will be making ~400hp, a 300hp Mini seems....underwhelming.
Well, the old ones were faster than the HP would have you believe. The 300hp Civic Type R is basically as fast as the RS, and i would guess the Mini will have the same weight or less than the Civic. It's not going to be slow, and i dont know if 'big numbers' is a good sales pitch for the MINI brand in general. Certainly open to opinions since I've never owned one and am just commenting on brand image from the sidelines.
In reply to Vigo :
I've driven the old ones, tuned versions even. They were slow. The RS wipes the floor with the R in 0-60 and other metrics and it wasn't beaten with the fugly stick a few times.
For the amount the Mini will cost, 300hp isn't going to get it done.
In reply to docwyte :
Yeah... In an off the line drag race, I'm not entirely sure my '06 JCW would beat my '17 minivan... it does "squirt" better when I want to merge into highway traffic.
RS wipes the floor with the R in 0-60
Well yeah, it's AWD. They have similar 1/4 mile trap speeds. I'm receptive to the idea that at this power level they should be making pretty much all such cars AWD. But i still wouldn't be surprised to see a 300hp Mini pull away from a 350hp RS once they get into gears where AWD isnt necessary.
Vigo said:RS wipes the floor with the R in 0-60
Well yeah, it's AWD. They have similar 1/4 mile trap speeds. I'm receptive to the idea that at this power level they should be making pretty much all such cars AWD. But i still wouldn't be surprised to see a 300hp Mini pull away from a 350hp RS once they get into gears where AWD isnt necessary.
Which is why the RS turns off the AWD at higher speeds and its midrange power is pretty impressive. They are portly for sure, so there's definately areas where that hurts its overall performance capability.
I do want to say that I'm sorry if I came across as a bit of dick earlier. I am immensely happy that there are still manufacturers willing to enter this space, especially in the US. Even if they don't all stay there for very long or perhaps all make quite as a concerted effort as others.
I've always liked the Mini, but their reliability has been suspect in the early models and it felt like it was a style over substance sort of situation, the 2nd gen wasn't nearly as good looking, but it seemed the reliability was better. The GP and JCW models seemed to be better built (more hand building perhaps?). This JCW looks pretty cool and it should be a pretty good competitor to the other cars in this market.
Even if the AWD is "turned off", it's still carrying the extra weight. And unless it can de-clutch the axle shafts and diffs from one set of wheels, it's still suffering the rotating weight penalty too.
In reply to rslifkin :
Yes, I understand that, I suspect the E-diff disconnects as well, but I don't know for sure and I just thought it was an interesting bit of information.
Wonder how that JCW wing would look on the FX16?
trucke said:Wonder how that JCW wing would look on the FX16?
JCW or GP? JCW parts are easy to get, but MINI has a history of being rather stingy with the GP specific parts. You have to give them the VIN number of your car to get replacement body parts.
Dragging this up now the car is out and on the streets. I'm sure many here will poo poo the car for it's price tag and complain about the weight, FWD, auto box etc. etc. Bui I think it's a damn cool little car and it looks awesome in the flesh. There's one outside the local MINI dealer, and I saw one parked on the street about 1/2 a mile from me, I keep meaning to go back and see if it was a visitor or an owner.
Why do I like it? Having grown up inthe 80's at the height of hot hatch mania I've always loved the concept, and this seems like the best execution of turning it up to 11 I've seen in a long time.
Controversial comment coming. I think manual transmissions are dead anyway, there's really no need for them these days. The biggest thing that scares me about automated manuals is the long term ownership cost of replacing clutches and actuators. Using a 'real' auto with good modern calibration seems like a great compromise and I can't wait to see how this works in the real world. One thing that MINI does have right with it's auto's is that when you move the shifter left from D to S they have the shifts in the correct orientation. Pull back for upshift and push forward for downshift. Despite not having flappy paddles, it works pretty well in my wife's Clubman S.
One of my friends bought a new MINI S when her old '09 MINI was totaled a couple of years ago. It is an automatic with the paddle shifters and know what, it is still fun to drive, and shifts much faster than my '12 S with a manual. And in reality, is much, much faster and drives better. So far it has been trouble free only needing tires and brakes. I would absolutely get one with the auto, in fact having driven both, I think I would prefer it. I am not sure how much camber you can get in the front for track work, but that is fixable with plates. Like was said previously, it is the first MINI with a real BMW engine, a version of the 2 liter, while the R53 was loosely Chrysler based, the R56's, Peugeot.
z31maniac said:GameboyRMH said:z31maniac said:Too bad it will probably be like $45k.
Yep, but depreciation will hit it hard...
Never mind, I just went and saw what the current ones cost.
I expect this to base north of $50k.I had no idea MINI was charging that much for cars.
Wait til you go to the parts counter!!!!!!! E36 M5! E36 M5! E36 M5! E36 M5!
I was hoping this thread would be about how ridiculously CHEAP some of them are!
I recently bought an R53 JCW for $1700. 
Vigo said:I wish it was some sort of secret how good JCWs were so I could get one cheap.
I trust an r53 engine derived from a Dodge Neon more than i trust most modern BMW designs, but then again if they're asking $50,000 for it you would think BMW would have it figured out... right??
They figured out how to make it as cheap and light as possible, that equates to maybe not fragile but failure prone.
And then there is the suck that happens to your wallet when you go to the parts counter.
I own an R56 S, stupid little things like the gasket for the radio antenna that is made from something that is biodegradable.
A plastic bleeder screw on a plastic thermostat housing that the thermostat is a permanent part of and a plastic water pump.
Who designed the orings for the oil cooler/filter adapter, they are made to fail. The entire front of the car has to come off to get to them and then there is that trip to the parts counter, where they dip it in sand before sodomizing you. The really bad part is due to the design I know I will have to do them again in the not so far future. I just hope they don't fail on a trip somewhere. And there is the joy of knowing they will fail and wondering how the failure will manifest, with an external oil or water leak, or an internal water to oil leak or an internal oil to water leak!!! E36 M5! E36 M5! E36 M5!
The most irritating thing is the proprietary audio can't be improved without rearranging the dash, I am stuck plugging into a Aux jack and listening to speakers that sound like tin cans with strings between them.
If it wasn't such a kick to drive, I'd set the POS on fire.
SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:I was hoping this thread would be about how ridiculously CHEAP some of them are!
I recently bought an R53 JCW for $1700.
You may well spend a multiple of the purchase price in replacement parts. Are they continuing to provide parts for the earlier models or are they doing the 10 year cut off?
I want a JCW ECU for my S.
And what tires should I buy for AutoX? Since all 200TW tires are not equal. 17's
The runflats they come with are bricks I need at least a pair of stickies for the front.
I already did the rear sway bar to loosen it up but don't feel it's enough, but that may be overcome with driving adjustment.
bentwrench said:SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:I was hoping this thread would be about how ridiculously CHEAP some of them are!
I recently bought an R53 JCW for $1700.
You may well spend a multiple of the purchase price in replacement parts. Are they continuing to provide parts for the earlier models or are they doing the 10 year cut off?
Thanks for the encouragement? 
I've owned it for 6 months or so. No issues except a dead battery. Comparable to any other used car.
...but much faster.
bentwrench said:I want a JCW ECU for my S.
Hmm, I need to look into this. My wife runs a 17 F54 Clubman S, I wonder if the JCW ECU would work and what other changes there are between the two versions?
I bought a Golf R summer of '19. I drove both the DSG (flappy paddle gearbox) version and the 6MT. 6MT won, going away, hands down, insert metaphor here.
I could care less that the DSG is faster. It is and by a large margin. Do. Not. Care. A flappy paddle gearbox is just a fancy auto-tragic. I'd play with the paddles here and there in the beginning and then I'd either put it in "D" or "S" and leave it there. Boring! I'm not using launch control at every stop on my way to work, or taking my kid to soccer practice. It's not fun to drive, period.
If I lived in LA, or some other similar city where traffic is horrendous, than I can certainly see buying one, as it's a great *automatic* gearbox. But it's NOT a replacement for a 6MT. Doesn't have the engagement nor the feel. I'm not looking to break lap time records driving to work and unfortuntely McLaren or Ferrari or whomever aren't going to be knocking on my door waving contracts under my nose begging for my driving services.
I'm so tired of the auto bashing. I understand it, I used to be one, but I'm sick of it. Having grown up in the UK in an era of 3 speed auto's where 90hp and 60lb/ft was considered 'quick' auto's were a real disadvantage. Modern autos are amazing, can't we just accept that a) people have preferences and b) the market has spoken.
For anything other than a classic toy, I've chosen two pedals from here on out. Any new car I ever buy will be two pedal and I don't believe that makes me any less of an enthusiast.
The mini crushed the competition in this race primarily due to auto.
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