2017 Mini Cooper Cooper on 2040-cars

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Mini Clubvan ready for boutique chic delivery duty from $25,985

The light commercial vehicle market has exploded in recent years. With a too-large full-size van no longer the only option for small businesses looking for an enclosed cargo carrier, options like the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, Ford Transit Connect and now this, the Mini Clubvan, are now available to suit every size need.
Unveiled at last year's Geneva Motor Show, the Clubvan will soon be on sale here in the US and we finally have details about what that transaction will cost you. Motoring File reports that the Clubvan's price will be $25,985, which includes the so-called "chicken tax" and a $700 destination and handling charge.
Other questions that were answered include whether or not the Clubvan can be ordered as a Cooper S or even John Cooper Works model, and the answer is no (why do need to deliver cakes that fast anyway?). Also, Mini has confirmed you can't take the shortcut of creating your own Clubvan by purchasing a standard Clubman and removing the rear seats. The factory Clubvan features steel side panels instead of vinyl coverings over the rear windows, as well as a fully flat load floor and a safety cage protecting front seat occupants.

2016 Mini Cooper Convertible First Drive

Conventional gearhead wisdom says to go for the biggest, most powerful engine. For the first two generations of Mini Convertible, this was a no-brainer. You bought the Cooper S. But as Senior Editor Alex Kierstein argued in our first drive of the Cooper S soft top, the less-powerful Cooper Convertible has an ace up its sleeve: a highly entertaining, three-cylinder, turbocharged engine. After some time behind the wheel, this two-time Mini Cooper S (hardtop) owner is ready to say the Cooper Convertible is the droptop Mini you should buy, full stop. The Cooper's 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder makes just 134 ponies and 162 pound-feet of torque. That's a 55-horsepower deficit and an extra 1.5 seconds, compared to the Cooper S. But who's clocking a Mini Convertible with a stopwatch? The 8.2 seconds it takes to get to 60 mph is perfectly adequate , and the triple's power delivery is addictive. Peak torque comes in at 1,250 rpm, making for effortless acceleration around town. The engine is positively diesel-like in the way it generates twist below 4,000 rpm, and the way it runs out of steam well before its 6,500-rpm redline. But this isn't annoying. There's more than enough torque to make the Cooper's acceleration sprightly around town. Think about it this way: The Cooper S' 2.0-liter turbo has enough power to rescue you from bad driving. But because of the turbo lag and the wheezy top end, the base Cooper forces you to manage your momentum. In that way, it's not unlike the Mazda MX-5, Toyota GT86/Subaru BRZ, and other so-called "momentum cars," that require drivers to maintain speed for a good corner exit. That, friends, is fun. But some of the car's shortcomings are less fun. We praised the triple's "offbeat, enticing growl" in our first drive, but this is still a three-cylinder engine and it vibrates like one. There's a diesel-like clatter from the direct-injection system on cold starts. And when rolling off the line at part throttle, the triple sends a weird vibration right to our hips. It disappears quickly as the speed increases, but the sensation is consistent enough to be annoying. Aside from the interesting powerplant, the best driving goodies aren't reserved only for the Cooper S. Tick the right boxes, and the regular Cooper can fit the adaptive dampers we raved about on the Cooper S first drive – Dynamic Damper Control is a $500 standalone option or included in the $1,750 Sport Package.

Mini John Cooper Works GP will have over 300 horsepower

The Mini John Cooper Works GP concept from the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show was one extreme-looking vehicle, and we now know it's because the real one will, in fact, be really extreme. The company announced that the production car will be the most powerful Mini with over 300 horsepower. In fact, it will be the most powerful Mini by a large margin, as the most potent models so far have only made 228 horsepower. And of course, it will be within striking distance of equally widened and winged cars such as the Civic Type R and Focus RS. Exact numbers haven't been revealed yet, but we wouldn't be surprised if it uses the same turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder from the BMW X2 M35i, which makes 306 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque. In fact, the engine would be ideal, since the X2 is front-drive based and shares underpinnings and less-powerful engines with existing Mini products. The X2 M35i is also all-wheel-drive, which naturally brings up the idea of the GP also powering all four wheels, but Mini might choose to stay with front drive to reduce complexity and weight. Sticking with front drive would also mean that Mini could challenge the Civic Type R's record Nurburgring lap. It looks like the spirit of the concept's design will make it to production, too. The teaser images Mini released show a pretty wild looking split wing that's just a bit narrower and missing some of the concept's extraneous fins. We can also just make out fat fender flares, a big rear diffuser, and the GP's trademark four-spoke wheels. The Mini John Cooper Works GP will go into production in 2020, and Mini will only be building 3,000 examples. That's a low number, but it is more than the 2,000 units of the two previous GP generations. And considering the high output and low production, the GP will undoubtedly be a pricey hot hatch. Related Video: