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T
E C H S P E C |
| PRICE:
£19,950 with Challenge entry,
£16,420 for car only |
| ENGINE:
4 cylinder, in-line, 1598cc, aluminium
alloy head, sohc, four valves per cylinder. Siemens EMS200
electronic ignition and multipoint injection. 123bhp at
6000rpm. Works developed air intake and exhaust systems |
| TRANSMISSION:
5-speed manual 'box, front wheel
drive. Competition clutch. Final drive 3,94:1 |
TRANSMISSION:
Front-wheel-drive with mechanical,
passive, limited slip differential. SADEV six-speed
sequential gearbox, mechanical shift. Cerametallic singleplate
clutch |
| SUSPENSION:
Standard Cooper suspension including
front, MacPherson struts and anti-roll bar and rear, Z-arm
axle and anti-roll bar. Plus stiffer, lower springs and
adjustable dampers front and rear. |
| BRAKES:
Front, 276mm vented discs. Rear,
259mm discs both used with harder race-spec pad material
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| WHEELS & TYRES: 15-inch Cooper pepperpots
and 175/65R15 Pirelli P3000 tyres |
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In
1961 - a glorious time when men were men and women wore
small skirts - a world championship-winning Formula 1
constructor turned a little shopping trolley of a car
into a giant-killing pocket rocket. That man was the late
John Cooper, and the car was the Mini.
Now, over 40 years later, the legend continues with a
new company set up by John's son Mike. With BMW factory
support, he has launched John Cooper Works (JCW), a tuning
company serving the new Mini. And along with a faster,
more torquey road version of the Beemer hot hatch (see
box, next page), Mike Cooper and his team of engineers
in East Preston have developed a racing version.
The John Cooper Works Club Sport Mini, as well as being
a bit of a mouthful to pronounce, is a race-prepared,
road-legal car. It's aimed squarely at privateers - those
drivers funding and running themselves rather than being
run by a factory team - and is being marketed particularly
at novices.
The cars have been built specifically for a new UK-based
one-make championship. This series,
entitled the John Cooper Challenge, will feature approximately
25 road-registered cars in an eight round multi-discipline
contest. For a one-off fee of just £19,950, challenge
entrants will get a Club Sport Mini to keep, ARDS race
instruction to get a MSA licence and then entry to an
eight round series of hillclimbs, sprints, track days
and races. For a season of racing plus the car, that's
not so much a deal, as the sale of the century. And with
all cars built to identical specs and strict regulations
enforced (including sealed engines), the racing is sure
to be pretty close.
In
the club
The JCW Club Sport has been designed and built as
a "dual purpose" vehicle, which basically
means it can be used both to pick granny up from
Tescos and to line up on the grid for a full-blown
race. Mike Cooper says he wanted the car to be as
near to the showroom model as possible, with no
major modifications made to bodywork or trim. All
the changes made to the car are reversible, should
you give up on your quest to become a modern day
Paddy Hopkirk. |
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The
engineers at JCW have many years of experience extracting
bundles of power from old A-series engines in classic
Minis, so squeezing a few extra horses from the engine
was never going to be too difficult. JCW started with
the induction system, which was replaced in favour of
a freer flowing unit, with a more "open" filter.
This less restrictive package is combined with a replacement
exhaust system, which produces a sound reminiscent of
the long-centre branch Mini of old. They also release
a bit more power, and with some remapping work on the
ECU, the Club Sport produces around 125bhp.
Elsewhere, the John Cooper Works boys have uprated brake
pads to a harder material for fast road/race use and dampers
have been replaced with adjustable units. More significant
though, is the swapping of the original springs, for lower,
stiffer items. More about those later.
As well as performance mods, the Club Sport also receives
the obligatory safety equipment including a six-point
FIA-approved roll cage, Sparco race seat with five-point
harness, extinguishers and electrical and fuel cut-off
switches. Bonnet straps feature but are more a throwback
to Sixties racing than a safety requirement. The only
other modification is the window cage, which is required
in a road-legal racer.
Driving
it
Big, heavy, cumbersome and gutless. All words used
to describe the BMW Mini. That's because the car
weighs in at a whopping 1050kg and simply hasn't
been given a strong enough engine to drag that bulk
around. And with all its extra bits fitted, the
Club Sport tips the scales at an even heavier amount:
a whopping 1150kg. So those ten more horses reined
under the bonnet by JCW, plus a bit more midrange
torque are more than welcome when driving the race-ready
Mini. |
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Like the standard BMW, the JCW Mini loves to be revved
but the Works modifications throw the car up into its
peak range quicker. Unlike the original car, the eager
throttle response makes the car much more driveable; it
picks up better in any gear and accelerates faster to
the red line. It also means the car can be teased and
prodded into controllable slides by planting the right
pedal then lifting off sharply. This oversteer is not
violent, but is very welcome on an otherwise grippy package
and delivers bundles of fun, which should be a key characteristic
of any Mini. It's worth noting at this point that when
our favourite Stop Sneer presenter Tiffany Dell drove
the car he had a bit of trouble getting the car sideways
for the cameras. The Pirelli tyres, apparently, provide
enough grip to keep the Mini straight at all times. Those
P3000 tyres are made to last approximately three or four
centuries, and are built from an ultra rock hard compound.
As a result they're not very grippy, and in fact, contribute
to severe front end wash-out when pushed. Safe for the
road but not nice on track.
Stiffer springs give the Club Sport Mini a lower, more
butch stance but they also help the car through bends.
The soft, spongy ride and wallowy body roll are both eliminated,
replaced by a firm, balanced and purposeful feel while
cornering.
That new exhaust tailpipe sounds fantastic and, while
it may provide a few extra horses of power, it gives the
driver far more in its rorty barks, sounding much more
like a proper Cooper. There's a lovely back-burble on
lift off and a louder, more aggressive roar from the engine
at high revs. The replacement free-flow induction system
also adds to the soundtrack, the "open" air
filter giving a throaty, breathy sound.
The Club Sport we tested was fitted with a competition
clutch, which was superior to the standard item; a much
firmer and solid pedal which made changes smoother and
easier.
The
verdict
While not ferocious, the JCW Club Sport is a neat
little package, and is quick enough to excite. The
engine mods give the Mini a more pokey, nippy nature,
which is very welcome, but more noticeable are the
suspension changes, which improve on the already
fine cornering characteristics of the BMW Cooper.
The stiffer set up seems to give the car more grip
at the front, which helps loosen the rear. Sadly,
the tyres are poor and any grip found is quickly
lost through the hard rubber. But, as noted earlier,
these will last ages, so its a frugal decision made
by JCW. |
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The
Club Sport is certainly a bargain and that should attract
more than enough competitors for the season, which kicks
off in spring. In fact, Mike Cooper already has 12 confirmed
for the series and during our Chobham test another prospective
punter took down Mike's East Preston number (01903 784
784).
In January 2002, we tested the first
modified new Mini, a ECU-tweaked car from Superchips,
and it didn't really blow our frock up. But the JCW
road car sounded a lot more promising. Not only have
they played with the ECU, but more extensive tuning
work has been carried out under the bonnet to extract
more power. Could this be the tuning package the road-going
Mini has been crying out for?
It's certainly half-way towards the engine we've been
demanding. Expert engineers at JCW have combined traditional
tuning skills with modern technology to produce a unit
that's quicker, more responsive and more suited to dragging
along the Mini's bulky mass. The major work is on the
cylinder head, where JCW have reshaped both inlet and
exhaust ports to give an extra 12bhp. A less restrictive
induction system and filter give a few more horses together
with a new exhaust tailpipe. The last modification is
invisible to the eye: an ECU remap to extract some more
power from the Chrysler lump and improve the driving
characteristics.
And the combination of these tweaks results in a much
more responsive engine that pulls better both from a
standstill, and up in the higher gears.
But the real negative point is the price. The total
cost for the JCW engine conversion is £1750 plus
VAT and fitting, which is about £2500. Add that
to the cost of a brand new Cooper and you're looking
at about £14,000 for the Works Mini Cooper - a
lot of dosh for a little more pokey people's car. Worth
it? Well yes, it probably is. The John Cooper Works
package transforms the driving characteristics of the
car with some sympathetic, yet exciting modifications.
It turns an already capable car into a real hot hatch,
and gives the BMW chassis an engine it deserves.
But this car simply serves to whet the appetite when
Mike Cooper says he already has plans for BMW's supercharged
Cooper S, due to be launched this spring. Mike says
the S Works will have 200bhp on tap. That really will
make the new Mini hot.
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