What's the news?

Arguably none, as new MINIs seem to come along with alarming frequency these days. This one's a go-faster version of the Paceman, which is in turn a two-door coupé take on the biggest MINI out there - the Countryman. With its more rakish roofline and two doors it was always going to get the John Cooper Works treatment, and now it has.

Exterior

This one's straight from the first page of the MINI guide to looking faster. So there's a different coloured roof and wing-mirror covers, some stripes (down the sides and over the bonnet and boot lid) and some bigger wheels. It all looks fast then, a few aero tweaks on MINI's Sports Activity Coupe (yes, really) making sure it stays planted and cool at the same time. A pair of big exhausts protrude from a diffuser-like lower bumper, which, being derived from an SUV, are rather chunky. Odd, but somehow it works. Kind of.

Interior

The sporting makeover is continued inside. Heavily bolstered sports seats up front, carbon black trim and what MINI describes as 'individual seats in which the rear passengers can enjoy that racing feeling in lounge-style surroundings' feature in the back. Confused? Not as much as the product planners, but MINI can apparently do no wrong and this thing will fly out of showrooms quicker than you can say 0-62mph in 6.9 seconds.

Mechanicals

Paddy Hopkirk would have bitten your arm off in Monte Carlo in the '60s for the four-wheel drive transmission that comes with the John Cooper Works Paceman. Those four wheels are powered by a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine pushing out 218hp and 300Nm of torque. There's a six-speed manual gearbox or even the option of an automatic. The Dynamic Stability Control delivers drive to the wheel that can use it best to ensure it'll scamper up a Col faster than any legal-head-lamped Citroen.

Anything else?

Choose that manual transmission for economy, as it sips a bit less fuel than its automatic relation - 38.2- compared to 35.8mpg on the official combined cycle. Both achieve the same 6.9-second 0-62mph time, while both also come with Sport buttons. The suspension gets dropped by 10mm for improved agility over its raised relations. So it's a smaller, shorter, faster version of a bigger, taller, version of a small car? Don't even try and rationalise it. The Paceman JCW will be in showrooms next year.