Tag: John Cooper Works

Categories
Drive Thru MINI Reviews

Drive Thru: MINI John Cooper Works

MINI John Cooper Works

When something meets your expectations so well, have you ever been left feeling almost let down? Equally, when something does meet your expectations so well, can you be anything other than impressed? These were questions I was asking myself a quick squirt in the new MINI John Cooper Works (JCW) today.

Firstly, a big thanks to Rolfe MINI Garage in Canberra for giving me early access to their demo JCW. To be thrown the keys and told ‘go and enjoy it’ was an opportunity I was not going to waste. Off to my preferred mountain test route I headed.

Continue reading “Drive Thru: MINI John Cooper Works”
Categories
MINI

MINI John Cooper Works teaser ad – version 2

Following on from MINI’s first teaser for the “Not extreme enough” MINI John Cooper Works campaign is this second effort. Looks like they put a bit of elbow grease into this one.

Categories
MINI

MINI John Cooper Works

MINI John Cooper Works

UK press details of the new MINI John Cooper Works have just been released. See below for more images and snippets from the very lenghty press document. Quite a few reviews of the car have popped up on the net recently and these can be accessed via MotoringFile.

Continue reading “MINI John Cooper Works”
Categories
MINI Challenge

2008 MINI Challenge – Round 4 TV highlights

Here is the TV highlights package from Round 4 of Australia’s 2008 MINI CHALLENGE. This round was all about the new entry to the series, Team Bargwanna, headed by former Bathurst winner Jason Bargwanna. His cousin Scott drives the team’s second car and their respective fathers help out in the pits. A real family affair. Jason won all three races this weekend and leading into the winter break it will be interesting to see if the other teams can catch the new kids on the block when they return to racing at Phillip Island in September (all dates and TV schedule below).

A full wrap up of Round 4 can be found HERE.

Continue reading “2008 MINI Challenge – Round 4 TV highlights”
Categories
MINI Challenge

2008 MINI Challenge – Round 3, Race 2

Continuing our quest to bring you up to date with the first four rounds of the 2008 MINI CHALLENGE here are a couple of clips bringing you all the thrills and spills from Race 2 of the Round 3 action at Western Australia’s Barbagallo Raceway. This round, known as the Ben Tune Rollover Round, created a bit of controversy with UBER-STAR pole sitter Leanne Tander punted off before the first corner of Race 1. Then, of course, there was Tune’s accident, and you can see from his pre-race interview in the clip above that his comparisons of Test Rugby and motor racing were eerily accurate. Highlights and commentary of Ben’s accident are shown at the end of the first clip.

This category is still growing and with each race the racing gets tighter and more competitve. This still didn’t stop media personality Grant Denyer from having an interview during the race (see clip below), although, he was a bit short of breath at times showing that he was working damn hard.

A full wrap up of Round 3 results can be found HERE.

Continue reading “2008 MINI Challenge – Round 3, Race 2”
Categories
MINI Motorsports

2008 MINI Challenge – Round 2 TV highlights

The MINI CHALLENGE is currently in winter hibernation, so if you’ve missed out on the action, keep an eye on AUSmotive as we help bring you up to speed. Here are two clips from Channel 7’s highlights package of Round 2 at Wakefield Park in Goulburn, New South Wales. There’s some great tight racing action, including a balls of steel overtaking move into turn two by David Turner at the 8 minute mark of the clip above. The round saw electrical gremlins ruin Pual Stokell’s chances, which enabled series debutant Nathan Geier to take his first race and round victory.

Continue reading “2008 MINI Challenge – Round 2 TV highlights”
Categories
MINI Challenge

2008 MINI Challenge – Round 4 TV highlights

Jason Bargwanna, MINI CHALLENGE

What better way to beat the end of financial year blues than with a healthy dose of hot MINI CHALLENGE action!

Coverage from the fourth round of the Series from Sandown International Raceway will be on Australia’s Olympic Network, Seven, this Saturday, 28 June at 1:30pm nationally. The action is really starting to heat up as some new young chargers have emerged, Sandown saw a brace of Bargwannas thrown into the mix and Paul Mercurio put his dancing shoes to work on the pedals of the UBER-STAR Car.

Continue reading “2008 MINI Challenge – Round 4 TV highlights”
Categories
MINI

MotoringFile drives MINI John Cooper Works

MINI John Cooper WorksThe team from MINI specialist website MotoringFile have given us a great teaser of the upcoming MINI John Cooper Works. The new top of the line MINI will be in Australian showrooms in August, but if you can’t wait, here’s a few thoughts from their report: “MINI has definitely kicked it up a notch with this new model. If you have the chance to test drive the MINI JCW you must take the opportunity but if you are a fan of the JCW you better get your order in now.”

Read the full MotoringFile report for images and an audio clip. There’s also more images available at the GBMINI website.

Categories
MINI

MINI John Cooper Works pricing and delivery confirmed

MINI John Cooper Works

The launching of John Cooper Works as a BMW owned brand is virtually complete with the announcement of pricing for the MINI John Cooper Works models. As expected, pricing for the hardtop and Clubman models has been confirmed at $48,800 and $51,300 respectively. Also confirmed is the good news that Australian deliveries are expected in August this year. “These are the fastest cars yet that MINI has brought to Australia but it is not their outright performance alone that will endear them to our customers. The cars are the complete package with bigger brakes, sportier exhaust, and an even higher degree of exclusivity,” said Justin Hocevar, National Manager for MINI.

Full details are listed below in MINI’s press release, but the basics are the John Cooper Works models—based on Chilli specification—feature a revised 1.6 litre turbocharged engine producing 155kW with a maximum of 280Nm of torque. Both the hardtop and Clubman are capable of reaching 100km/h in under 7 seconds. The engine modifications are based largely on the power plants used in the race cars from the MINI CHALLENGE series which has been impressing competitors and fans alike across the country since the series launch in March this year.

Continue reading “MINI John Cooper Works pricing and delivery confirmed”
Categories
MINI

MINI John Cooper Works Australian pricing confirmed soon

MINI John Cooper WorksIt is expected that Australian pricing for MINI’s new factory built John Cooper Works models will be confirmed within the next fortnight. The John Cooper Works range will be available in both coupé and Clubman models and will offer a new high-performance version of the 1.6-litre Twin Scroll turbo engine, producing 155kW, the highest output ever offered in the new generation MINI range. Internet rumours suggest the Coupé’s list price, less on road costs and any options, will be under $49,000 while the Clubman will come in under $52,000.

The MINI John Cooper Works Hardtop model will reach 100 km/h in just 6.5 seconds, while the MINI John Cooper Works Clubman covers the same sprint in 6.8 seconds. Peak torque now increases to 280Nm courtesy of a high performance Overboost feature between 2,000 rpm and 5,300 rpm. In less frenetic driving, peak torque of 260Nm is available between 1,850 rpm and 5,600 rpm. Deliveries of the John Cooper Works models to Australian customers are expected before the end of the year.

Keep reading AUSmotive.com for more details as soon as they come to hand.

Categories
MINI Challenge News

Australian MINI CHALLENGE management rights up for sale

MINI ChallengeMotorsport Event Management (MEM), the agency contracted to run the Australian MINI CHALLENGE, has been put up for sale by current owner Iain Sherrin.

In a statement issued today by BMW Group Australia, MINI National Manager, Justin Hocevar said, “MINI is confident that any sale of MEM will be to a suitable purchaser who will continue to manage the increasingly popular MINI CHALLENGE series exactly in line with the arrangements MINI put in place with MEM.

“MINI had a five year plan for MINI CHALLENGE and we see no reason to deviate from that plan with the new owner of MEM. Iain Sherrin has indicated his desire to sell the category management business and focus on his multiple race teams. His team – Sherrin MotorSport – manages six cars for a number of clients, with one added to the stable last week,” Hocevar continued.

Continue reading “Australian MINI CHALLENGE management rights up for sale”
Categories
MINI Motorsports

Eastern Creek MINI Challenge – TV highlights

Round 1 of the MINI Challenge kicked off in Australia over the weekend of 7-9 March at Sydney’s Eastern Creek Raceway. Here are three youtube clips from the highlights package which aired on Channel 7 today. This was the worldwide debut of the R56 MINI Challenge cars you can read more about the MINI Challenge by following the links below:

Continue reading “Eastern Creek MINI Challenge – TV highlights”