The Roadster is a thousand quids more expensive than the JCW hatch convertible that can accommodate two more adults but comes with a smaller boot space. The Coupe is about £955 cheaper.

Performance

The Achilles heel of the JCW Coupe is its very stiff ride, and that weakness still persists on its Roadster sibling. There is an option for a sports suspension but it is still very far from providing a comfortable ride.

Ride the JCW Mini Roadster on the crinkly roads of Europe and the ride will be frantically skipping and you can forget about the good cornering attitude, grippy tires, and a front differential that is electronically controlled.

The smooth roads will let you enjoy the best traits of the vehicle. The electric steering is pretty accurate and very responsive. Stow the roof and enjoy the sound of the engine puffing out some racy sountrack. You have to deal with some cabin noise though.

The upgraded brakes of the JCW are quite effective and will stop the car when you need it to.

Verdict

The JCW Mini Roadster is perfect for some smooth road long drive and some sun.

The money will be used to expand the capacity of three of its factories that will include the Oxford plant that handles the main production of the Mini. The move forms a crucial part of the strategy of the brand to push for international growth of the Mini brand. Mid-term, the parent company wants to increase the volume of production and add to the models of the lineup

The range of the Mini has expanded significantly after the launch in 2001 of the three-door hatch. It had grown to include the C Mini Roadster, Clubvan, Mini Countryman hatchback, Clubman wagon, and the four-seat cabriolet.

For its tenth model, BMW considered before the Rocketman concept, a ride smaller than the three-door hatchback. This vehicle was revealed during the auto show in Geneva last year. It measures less than 12 feet and came close to the dimensions of the Austin Mini that rolled out back in 1959 but BMW dismissed the plan.

The Rocketman though will be showcased during the upcoming Olympics that will be held in London. BMW will be the official ride of the games and supplied vehicles to bring athletes and game officials to the different sporting venues.

BMW said before that it will not make a ride bigger than the Mini Countryman but they see a small crossover to be more feasible than a small mini.

The new MINI Cooper cannot be tagged as revolutionary as its forefather but it is also quite distinct in its own right. It also carries the reputation of the MINI that even small cars can be popular in the United States as long as they have that quality ride, affordable, and quite fun to handle.

For making the MINI Cooper give that feeling of riding a big car, you have to thank BMW, its parent company, for that. The blueprint of the product revolves around the econobox but the name should not mislead anyone as it feels luxe. It is an affordable car but has a ton of options to give that personal touch and much desired customization.

The retro styling of the MINI Cooper still echoes the classic looks of the original vehicle with round lights, contrasting color of the roof that is really an eye catcher, and wheels pushed to the corners of the vehicle. The seats are very comfortable but it is pretty cramped if someone will be riding on the rear seats.

The 2012 MINI Cooper is being offered in different trims : from Cooper with a 4-cylinder 1.6L engine that gives out 121 horsepower; to Cooper S with 181HP, and the JCW or John Cooper Works which can produce 208 HP.

The base MINI Cooper already gives you a decent performance with the upper trims giving you the extra oomph you might want. The first two trims have the 6-speed gearbox coming in as manual or automatic. The JCW comes with stick only.

The fuel mileage of the Cooper is 29 miles per gallon on city driving while going 37 mpg on the highway. The Cooper S goes for 27mpg on city driving and 35 on the highway. It is not bad at all to get 380 miles out of a full tank of petrol in your Cooper.

The 2012 MINI Cooper is a fun ride with pretty good performance. It also has a 5-star rating for rollovers from the NHTSA.

The German carmaker will be recalling Mini Cooper S produced between 2007 thru 2011, Cooper S Clubman that rolled out between 2008 thru 2011, and the Cooper S Convertible made from 2009 thru 2011 plus some variants between November 2006- January 2011.

BMW has looked into several incidents of fires in the engine bay which happened in May thru June 2010. A team was assembled July last year to investigate the case. The NHTSA also started their independent investigation by October of last year. NHTSA sough some assistance from the car manufacturer only a few weeks ago.

The NHTSA was able to established that the potential malfunction of the auxiliary pumps ‘ circuit board which serves for cooling the turbochargers. The malfunction produces more heat than usual and may trigger the fire. Since 2009, the authorities were able to record about 81 failures of water pumps and other fires documented from different parts of the globe.

BMW be sending a notice to owners of affected vehicles by February so they have enough time to get the right and enough supplies to fix all the cars that need the corrections.

Only 2,012 units of this MINI limited edition will be built and can be purchased as the MINI Cooper (£ 17,800), Cooper D (£ 19,080), Cooper SD (£20,860), and Cooper S(£ 20,125) variants. The cars will be following the colors of the Union Jack so will roll out in Lightning Blue, Silver, White, and Chilli Red. All versions and colors will have their mirror caps and roof in white featuring the graphics for the London 2012 Olympics.

The exterior of the MINIs will also have the sport stripes running over its roof, bonnet, and tailgate. The sides will also display the London 2012 Olympic Games graphic. The look of the London 2012 MINI models is completed by the 17 inch alloy rims with conical spokes which is not available to other models of the brand.

Among the most striking features of the car is the London skyline etched skilfully across the black dashboard of the MINI which silhouettes famous landmarks like the Tower Bridge, London Eye, and the Battersea Power Station. The special edition MINI will also have the tag London 1 of 2012 on its dashboard.

The stitching of the upholstery also reflects the colors of the London Olympics 2012 using blue, red, and white threads. The headrests has a logo of the 2012 Olympic games plus its consistency of the stitching with the Union Jack theme.

You can sign up for the presale list of the London 2012 special MINIs which opened earlier this month. The 2012 London Olympic inspired MINI Cooper models will hit the UK roads by March next year.

The Soho is now etched on the plate of the soft-top convertible and the 3-door hatchback that will be for sale in the United Kingdom as Cooper D or Cooper models this year through March 2012. The hatch MINI Cooper D hits a good number for a 74.3 mpg on a combined cycle and only 99 g per kilometer of carbon dioxide.

The MINI Soho special editions gets a silver metallic finish that has not been on any other MINI convertible or hatch today. The Soho will also roll on a Black Star Bullet 17 inch alloy rims, get bi-xenon headlamps with black reflectors, and white indicators.

The interior of both the hatchback and convertible MINI Soho will have Piano Black surfaces, 3 spoke steering wrapped in leather, and Anthracite headlining.

The pricing for the MINI Soho editions are the following:

Soho Hatch MINI Cooper £16,765
Soho Convertible MINI Cooper £19,060

Soho Hatch MINI Cooper D £18,045
Soho Convertible MINI Cooper D £20,135

MINI enthusiasts wouldn’t want to pass this up since AC Schnitzer’s add-on list includes the debut of a 19-inch set wheels that come with two distinct designs. The fist one is the Type IV that comes in two color schemes of two-tone and silver. The second is an 18-inch set wheels that can be found in both Type VI and Type VIII.

The tuning specialist is planning a set of aluminum pedals as well as gear knobs that comes with a digital gear marker and is accented with fine genuine leather. For now, the automotive world is still busy with the initial news from AC Schnitzer. Of course, it wouldn’t come as a surprise before AC Schnitzer would issue a complete styling and performance package for MINI’s countryman.

AC Schnitzer Automobile Technik is known for its reputation as of the BMW’s top automobile customizers. It was founded in 1987 and has been customizing a wide range of BMW and MINI car models as well as motorcycles.

Prodive, a British automotive engineering group, helped develop the car that will compete in the WRC.  The MINI Countryman WRC is packed with BMW Motorpsport’s four-cylinder 1.6 liter petroleum engine.  The MINI Countryman WRC has passed the new regulations of Super2000 which means employing turbo engines that comes with an engine displacement of 1,600 cc and the production of four-wheel drive vehicles that comes with technologies that are relevant on the road.  MINI Countryman WRC’s first test drive will take place in the autumn of 2010.

According to Ian Robertson, a member of BMW AG’s Board of Management, the car company is pleased to know that the MINI brand will be joining in one of the best international motorsport in the world. Since a great chunk of MINI customers are also interested in motorsport, MINI’s success on the rally circuit will be of great importance to the brand’s image.  Robertson is confident that the MINI Countryman model is a great base car for the brand to create more racing cars that could compete in other world championships.  He also expressed his strong belief in Prodrive as the brand’s partner in getting the project right on track.

David Richards, Prodrive’s chairman, also expressed his conviction their modified MINI will be embraced as a favorite in the rally circuit as it is loved by its owners around the world.  He also added that they have orders for the new MINI already and that the deliveries will kick off early in 2011.

BMW UK executives welcome the developments and sees them as good sign for their business There are also news that confirm 1000 more workers will be hired to help out with the production of the new models. It is still not clear if the other release will be the MINI roadster which has been creating some buzz the past few weeks online or the almost ready MNI Crossover.

The Coupe concept of MINI really lives up to its name. Mini as it is, there are no back seats giving it an even smaller size that comes with the smooth lines of the small car.

The carmaker previously told media that they are also depending on the reaction of the public and the press towards the concept vehicle before making any plans concrete. They will definitely getting the feedback needed during the Frankfurt Motor Show and when they display the concept at the auto show in Los Angeles this coming December. But it seems MINI has already gauge the strong clamor for the new MINI and gave their thumbs up for the production of the vehicles.

The addition of the two vehicles to their fleet almost completes the range of the MINI. The crossover might roll out of the assembly as early as 2010. This means that the coupe and the other model might come at max after three years or by 2011 the soonest.

Mini’s new recruits include markets and cities new to the car company. Their main focus will be on Mini’s expansion and new sales. According to Jim McDowell, Mini USA’s Vice President, their goal is to increase the company’s sales to “double-digit” percentage. The expansion will also broaden Mini’s network.

It is important to note that Mini’s goal does not necessarily disclose that the demand for cars is that high. It simply denotes that the company hopes to substantially raise the demand to “double-digit” increase starting 2011. It’s definitely a big risk for Mini.

While we continue to experience a global financial crisis with the car industry is getting hit harder and harder, the big shots in the car industry, particularly the luxury cars, are not making enough sales. Cars like Mini are small, lightweight, and fuel efficient, therefore becoming more and more practical for the average consumer. Mini hopes that this logic will widen their network and increase their sales.

McDowell believes that as the world gets more and more “Mini”, consumers will realize that consumers will think that the models offer great value. They are fuel efficient, dynamic, and fun.

Mini’s first dealership will hit off in Birmingham, Alabama, while the last 16 dealerships will be scattered across the country, particularly in the northeastern, western, and southern regions.