The Mini's the works

Ever since, the car in all its forms has been held in the affections of generations like few other pieces of metal.

It is classy yet classless, sporty yet sophisticated, great for both sexes and all ages.

Classic or robustly safe and sportily grippy and modern in the BMW mould, the Mini still makes people smile, reviving countless fond memories. Just add ‘Italian Job’ and the iconic image is complete.

It might have started life as a compact runabout, but of course the Mini was using an engine that in more advanced form was being used in racing. Thus it wasn't long before John Cooper started a trend of hotting up the car at the dawn of an era of race and rally supremacy and the Mini Cooper was born.

My mother was one of the first Mini owners in Hampshire but it was well over a decade before I got my own, which had started life as an innocuous little Austin 850cc De Luxe.

But I was a motor club member and gradually my Mini evolved into something hotter with a substantial contribution from a scrapyard donor Cooper S, in the form of disc brakes, wide wheels and twin fuel tanks, as well as bucket seats.

Under the bonnet was a 1,275cc engine with big twin carburettors and it flew, with big Cibie spotlights blazing the way ahead and big exhaust leaving a racket behind!

These days I’d never get away with it, and I’d probably need a PhD to even try, thanks to the strictness of most modern insurance and complexities of engineering and electronics.

But with the modern Mini you don’t need to start scraping your knuckles for individualistic fun. There are so many permutations in the specification available – never mind the Convertible and Clubman bodystyles – that hardly any two cars coming off the Oxford production line are identical.

For performance there is the petrol Cooper and Cooper Diesel – top car in the country for holding its value – and, at £15,910, the 140mph Cooper S, distinguished by bonnet air intake scoop and twin exhausts.

But if you want the ultimate Mini it has to be the John Cooper Works, the fastest ever production Mini with numerous engine, chassis, suspension and styling enhancements.

At £20,570 – nearly 30 per cent more than the ‘ordinary’ Cooper S – and developed from the Mini Challenge race cars, the headturning Works produces 211hp and can dash to 62mph from standstill in just 6.5sec and achieve a top speed of 148mph. Yet it's capable of 40.9mpg.

The engine has been made stronger and more efficient, with the turbocharger boost raised to increase the power and torque and the transmission strengthened to handle it.

The complete exhaust system has been modified with a John Cooper Works exhaust system terminating in large polished stainless steel twin tailpipes to visually complement the deep burble produced by the engine and exhaust system.

The exhaust note aside, a red gear knob unique to the model and the special badging are giveaways.

More subtle is the Sport button located in front of the gear stick. When pressed it activates a bespoke engine control computer map producing boost earlier in the rev range and sharpening steering and throttle response. You can feel that it wants to play!

Matching the boosted performance is an impressive package of electronic goodies to keep the car on the road including cornering brake control, electronic differential lock control, dynamic stability control including hill assist for hill starts, and dynamic traction control.

You don’t need to lift a finger – but if you do you can get even more fun out of the car.

Fast though it is, the John Cooper Works is no stripped-out racer. An array of high quality standard features includes a sport leather steering wheel, sport seats, air conditioning, glossy piano black interior trim and anthracite black roof lining. Performance is underlined by a new speedometer, the dial increased to 160mph to account for the car’s higher top speed.

It’s a serious piece of kit, rather than the boy racer Mini of old – but look for the smile on the driver’s face!