| First Drive | Donington Park, England | MINI Cooper S John Cooper Works |

MINI wants us to think of its John Cooper Works (JCW) tag as a sub-brand to MINI in the same way BMW's M-cars represent the pinnacle of driving pleasure in each model range. In the quest for that, the illustrious John Cooper name has been bought outright by the company and from now on will be applied to production models made at the MINI factory - rather than aftermarket kits. MINI plans to release JCW versions of every one of its variants.

In the Metal

Something to be aware of while scouring through our photographs is that the Clubman JCW pictured is not the version that will go on sale in Britain and Ireland. Right-hand drive customers will be treated to a full body kit as standard on the Clubman, while some of our European counterparts will not. The Hatch also comes with its own body addenda, including new bumpers front and rear, vented side sills and a unique design of 17-inch alloy, which apparently will not be available for non-JCW buyers. Larger twin-exit exhausts poke out of the rear, while prominent red brake callipers peek through the spokes of the wheels. The final touch is a smattering of John Cooper Works badges.

Inside, the JCW is not too dissimilar to that of the regular Cooper S, though the keen-eyed will spot that the centrally-mounted speedo now reads as far as 160mph to allow for the JCW's higher top speed, while items such as a leather steering wheel, air conditioning and glossy piano black interior trim all come as standard.

What you get for your Money

Prices for the new John Cooper Works models start at £20,995 for the three-door hatchback. That's a premium of more than £4,000 over the regular Cooper S, which some may baulk at. Though there is extra equipment as standard, the price difference represents a significant increase in performance. On top of that and the neat aero kit, the JCW model comes with Dynamic Traction Control and Electronic Differential Lock Control, which, despite its name, isn't a locking differential, but an electronic system that aims to replicate the dynamics of a locking differential, but without the torque steer often present in a powerful front-wheel drive car with wide tyres.

At the time of writing, the price of the Clubman JCW is unknown, though we expect a premium of £1,200 or so over the Hatch.

Driving it

The JCW experience is a little dominated by the sheer grunt on tap. MINI has replaced the twin-scroll turbocharger found in the regular Cooper S with a larger, stronger version that ups boost available. The result is not only a healthy 208bhp at 6,000rpm, but availability of maximum torque of 192lb.ft right the way from 1,850 - 5,600rpm. On top of that, an overboost facility releases up to 207lb.ft when the electronics deem it prudent.

Thanks to a relatively low kerb weight, the JCW beats most of its rivals to the 62mph mark in 6.5 seconds. That's as quick as the rather more exclusive MINI GP, which means MINI can claim it's the fastest accelerating car it has ever built. The exhaust is new from the cylinder head back and it makes a suitably aggressive noise as you rush through the gears, with the occasional pop and bang on the overrun.

The six-speed 'box is slick as ever and the car's agility and grip will astound anyone that hasn't driven a MINI lately. The steering isn't the last word in communication though and the ride can be a tad bouncy over the worst B-roads, but the JCW remains huge fun to drive hard and it should cope well with the rigours of some track work too.

Worth Noting

MINI's Challenge race car was also on hand to try out, and though it's undoubtedly a keener performer on track, it's clear that the JCW MINI is linked to it. The engine, gearbox and brake system are all said to be developments of the race car's, which incidentally can be bought for about £35,000 (€49,000). It looks even meaner than the JCW road car, but sadly isn't road legal.

Summary

On pricing the new John Cooper Works models compete with grown up hot hatches such as the Golf GTI, Focus ST, Honda Civic Type R, Mégane Renaultsport et al and it performs at least as well as most of that class. Yet the MINI is significantly less practical, even in Clubman guise. However, it has one final ace up its sleeve, which is a phenomenally low CO₂ figure of just 165g/km with 40.9mpg on the combined economy cycle. None of the cars mentioned above can get anywhere close to those figures. MINI fans will no doubt love the new JCW, while hot hatch buyers in general should not ignore it.