- Mini Cooper JCW Convertible spotted testing at the Nurburgring
- Brand has already teased the JCW hatch, saying it will come with choice of auto or manual transmissions
- Cooper S received a 20 hp power boost, so we’re expecting JCW’s 2.0-liter to make more than the old version’s 228 hp
The manual transmission’s transformation to an expensive luxury feature continues with the latest combustion-powered Mini Coopers. Recently facelifted to make them look more like their new EV cousins, the ICE Minis are only available with an automatic gearbox – unless you spring for the flagship John Cooper Works.
Mini hasn’t officially revealed the JCW, but it has shown pictures of a lightly disguised hatch and confirmed that, unlike lesser Minis, it would give buyers the choice of sending their power to the front wheels though manual or auto transmissions.
Related: 2025 Mini John Cooper Works Hot Hatch To Bring Pure ICE Thrills This Fall
Whether that courtesy extends to the JCW Convertible, a car with the same basic powertrain and chassis setup, but less likely to be picked by true enthusiasts, isn’t clear, but let’s hope it does. There are already too few manuals available in the world.
Though this Convertible spied putting in some hot testing laps at Germany’s Nurbrurging was still wearing plenty of disguise, it’s easy to pick out details shared with the teased JCW hatch prototype, including the busy grille, the square intakes at each corner of the front bumper, and the single, center-mounted tailpipe, which looks just like the aftermarket silencers that were popular with Mini owners in the 1960s.
Glimpses of the interior show the slimline, circular OLED touchscreen common to all new Minis, but one mystery is what the brand plans to do under the hood. We know it will carry over the outgoing car’s 2.0-liter turbocharged inline four, but not how many horses it will generate.
Our spy photo team seems to think the B48-code engine will make the same 228 hp (231 PS) as before, but since Mini says the new JCW will “push the boundaries of speed and agility” and has already bumped the output of the Cooper S from 176 hp (178 PS) to 201 hp (204 PS), we strongly suspect a JCW power hike is on the cards. We’ll find out for sure some time in the next couple of months.
