2024 has been a busy year for MINI considering the BMW-owned marque essentially renewed its entire lineup. Some of the models went on to receive the John Cooper Works treatment. For the first time, the Oxford-based company is showing all five JCW models together. Mind you, these are the actual performance versions. Separately, MINI also has a JCW Trim that’s all show without any extra go.
For the first time in the history of the JCW badge, you can get a fully electric model. Actually, make those two: the John Cooper Works Electric (J01) and the John Cooper Works Aceman (J05). These are offered alongside three cars powered by combustion engines: the John Cooper Works (F66), the John Cooper Works Convertible (F67), and the John Cooper Works Countryman ALL4 (U25).
As before, MINI refuses to give the five-door hatchback (F65) the full-fat JCW treatment. That still seems a bit odd but maybe internal studies have shown there wouldn’t be enough demand. There might be a sixth JCW model further down the line. Rumor has it the British marque will launch an electric Convertible (J03) in 2027. Since the zero-emission hatchback upon which it would be based has a JCW variant, perhaps there are plans for a go-faster cabrio as well?
In the meantime, the manual gearbox is dead and it’s not coming back. As if that wasn’t bad enough, these are likely the final JCW models with a combustion engine. MINI has pledged to go fully electric around the end of the decade. That means there’s no time left for another round of gasoline-fueled JCWs.
Thankfully, MINI’s parent company BMW won’t be saying goodbye to ICE anytime soon. The German luxury brand has pledged to keep the combustion engine alive well into the 2030s. Who knows, maybe it will live to see the 2040s as well. However, in the BMW Group’s vision, the future is electric. By 2030, it expects EVs to account for more than half of its annual sales.
Source: MINI
First published by https://www.bmwblog.com
Source: BMW BLOG
