This John Cooper Works edition of the new Countryman still packs a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-pot.
While MINI may be leaning heavily into its electrified agenda lately, it still seemingly hasn’t weaned itself completely off the jungle juice just yet. That is as in spite of having launched the fully-electric version of its new Countryman earlier this year, the hot John Cooper Works variant of this compact crossover was nevertheless recently revealed to still feature a purely petrol-powered 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder.
The same base engine as found in its predecessor, this turbo four-pot in the new hot Countryman benefits from optimised pistons, new connecting rods, new engine mounts and has a revised air intake and dual-drive turbocharger. All of which therefore equates to 312 horsepower and 400 Nm of torque, which is slightly more powerful but strangely slightly less torque-y than the 301 hp and 450 Nm of twist output the prior iteration.
Even more unfortunately too, the European-spec hot Countrymans don’t even get the promised increased in horsepower that its American counterparts benefit from, as power in the old country is for whatever reason capped to 296 hp. Though despite the drop in power, MINI still claims for this John Cooper Works-fied crossover to achieve the century sprint in 5.4 seconds and go on to a top speed of 250 km/h.
MINI is also promoting for this new Countryman to be a sportier drive than its predecessor, with this hot crossover even featuring a go-kart configuration on the MINI Experience Mode that takes advantage of the new in-cabin engine sound generator. Also fitted to this John Cooper Works edition meanwhile are new valved exhaust system, stiffer suspension tuning and Chilli Red-painted high performance brakes hidden behind the available 19- and 20-inch alloy wheels that now wear wider tyres than before, which are in turn powered through an eight-speed automatic transmission and MINI’s ALL4 four-wheel drive system.
Visually, this hot John Cooper Works trim is most easily differentiated from the rest of the lineup through a revised front end with a high-gloss treatment for the black grille and a revised bumper with red vertical elements in its outer air ducts. There are also to be variant-specific LED headlight graphics and vertical tail lights, which are then capped off by a new C-Pillar accent piece and a new rear bumper with a pair of round black tailpipes on either side.
Moving on inside on the other hand, the John Cooper Works Countryman nets a combination of black and red elements and JCW sports seats for a sporty flair. The usual round OLED display continues to dominate the centre of its dashboard, with a row of toggle switches underneath to control the essential vehicle functions.
Prices for the Countryman John Cooper Works is to start at £40,720 (RM 235,000) in the UK and $46,900 (RM 220,000) in the US, with the first international customer deliveries expected around May of next year. No word yet though on when this hot crossover will be making its local launch.
