The MINI Cooper S John Cooper Works (JCW) came face to face with the Toyota GR Yaris at the Hockenheim GP track, where they were set loose against the clock for a fast lap to see which one is quicker.
Some may be wondering why they didn’t choose the more potent JCW GP instead. SportAuto, which is behind this challenge, said that the range-topper only comes on semi-slick tires and it wouldn’t have been a fair fight as all cars have to ride on normal sport rubber.
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So, with 205/45 Pirelli P Zero tires wrapped around its 17-inch alloys, and a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine producing 231 PS (228 HP / 170 kW) and 320 Nm (236 lb-ft) of torque and mated to a six-speed manual transmission, the British hot hatch completed the course in 2:03.8. In this configuration, the Cooper S JCW takes 6.3 seconds to accelerate to 100 km/h (62 mph), and when ordered with the eight-speed auto, it is a couple of tenths of a second faster.
In the GR Yaris, which rides on 18-inch wheels shod in 225/40 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, you are looking at less than 5.5 seconds for the 0 to 100 km/h (0-62 mph) sprint and a 230 km/h (143 mph) electronically limited top speed. The Japanese hot hatch has 261 PS (257 HP / 192 kW) and 360 Nm (266 lb-ft) in European spec, produced by a turbocharged 1.6-liter three-cylinder engine, with the thrust channeled to the four-wheel drive system via a six-speed manual transmission.
So, while the two are small hot hatches, their executions are quite different. Which do you think came out on top?