What's the news?
The newly-announced MINI John Cooper Works Challenge is a classic 'Saturday Morning' car, created by a dedicated band of MINI engineers in the factory, working in their free time to create a car that's said to "excel on a racing circuit, while maintaining perfectly useable manners on the public road."
Exterior
On the outside, the JCW body kit parts bin has been raided, for a super aggressive look thanks to a lower front splitter, rear spoiler add-ons for the already large roof spoiler and rear diffuser. There is also a carbon-fibre finish for the bonnet air intake and the door mirror caps.
Interior
Inside, you get carbon black cloth, a numbered plaque stating which one of the strictly limited 100 it is, and Piano Black interior trim, rear parking sensors, auto lights and wipers and Adaptive LED headlights.
Mechanicals
Created in Plant Oxford's 'Building 71', which also houses the OX4 racing team, the JCW Challenge is based on the standard John Cooper Works MINI, and uses the same 231hp 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine. It ditches the optional automatic gearbox in favour of a six-speed manual only transmission and has performance figures including a 6.3-second 0-100km/h time and a top speed of 245km/h, along with CO2 emissions of 155g/km.
Underneath though, the setup of the Challenge is quite different to that of the standard road car. There is bespoke suspension, designed and supplied by racing specialists Nitron, the dampers for which are fully adjustable both for ride height and compression stiffness - and are essentially hand-made from titanium. The camber settings are also fully adjustable, as is the castor, and owners are being encouraged to experiment with their settings on track days to find a personal optimum balance.
Up front, there's a Quaife differential for maximising traction, which is also tied in to the standard electronic chassis aids and traction control. Meanwhile, a combination of Team Dynamics 17-inch alloy wheels and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres helps to reduce the car's unsprung weight by as much as 2.5kg per corner.
Doing the stopping are vented and drilled 330mm brakes, with Brembo four-pot calipers, and bespoke Mintex brake pads.
The trick exhaust is even more trick than you might think - it's controlled by a Bluetooth module and can offer both Sport and Track settings for extra aural stimulation.
Anything else?
There are no options and the UK price of £32,000 suggests an import price here of around €55,000 to €60,000. The Challenge will be launched to the public at next week's Goodwood Festival of Speed.