The hottest ticket in town at next month’s Detroit Auto Show will be the new MINI John Cooper Works.

Packing the most powerful engine ever for a production MINI , a 2.0-litre TwinPower Turbo unit delivering 231 hp and 320 Nm , the JCW also draws on the brand’s motorsport expertise with a package of suspension, brake, aerodynamic and interior modifications to deliver race-car sensations without losing sight of MINI’s premium position.

Compared with the previous MINI JCW, the new model delivers 10 per cent more power and 23 per cent more torque. This brings the 0-100 km/h time down by 0.2 seconds to 6.3 seconds with the six-speed manual gearbox, and by 0.6 seconds to 6.1 seconds with the optional six-speed Steptronic sports transmission. 

Equally impressive is the greatly improved driving flexibility, courtesy of the increased torque – acceleration from 80-120 km/h is now 10 per cent quicker at 5.6 seconds, accompanied by an emotive rasp from twin tailpipes of the sports exhaust.
In true MINI style, the driving fun does not involve any fuel consumption penalty. Combined consumption with the manual gearbox is 42.2 mpg, with CO2 emissions of 155 g/km. With the optional Steptronic sports transmission fuel economy improves by 20 per cent to 49.5 mpg, with CO2 emissions of 133 g/km.