Electric Mini Cooper S E gets JCW overhaul but not up front

Having alluded to a first-time John Cooper Works (JCW) version in the run-up to the debut of the all-electric new Mini Cooper earlier this year, parent company, BMW, has done exactly that, albeit as an appearance package with no added grunt.

Sporty inside and out

Called the Cooper S E JCW Trim, the sportiest version, for now, of the fourth generation model previously known as the Mini Hatch, receives the same exterior tweaks as the combustion engine new Countryman JCW in the form of standard LED headlights, JCW specific bumpers and door sills, dual racing stripes across the bonnet and red brake calipers.

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Mounted on 10-spoke 18-inch JCW alloy wheels, the Cooper S E JCW Trim also gets the new JCW chequered flag decal on the end-plates of the roof mounted spoiler and below the sealed, JCW first, grille finished in gloss black.

Inside, the racy touches are again derived from the Countryman and consist of sport seats finished in synthetic leather with red stitching plus the chequered flag decal above the seatback, red accents on the dashboard and a special 2D knitted finished textile material on the doors and dash itself.

Carried over from the standard Cooper S E is the nine-inch OLED infotainment system with Mini’s version of BMW’s 9.0 operating system, plus the Countryman JCW’s red pull strap for the storage bin between the front seats.

Same power and range

Despite the presence of the same go-kart mode as the Countryman JCW, which improves throttle response and changes the ambient lighting, Mini has made no alterations to the chassis or dynamics based on the JCW Trim being an aesthetic add-on.

As such, the 54.2-kWh lithium-ion battery pack’s outputs are unchanged at 160kW/330Nm, with same applying to the claimed 402 km range, 0-100 km/h in 6.7 seconds and waiting time of 30 minutes from 10-80% using a DC fast charging station.

Similar to the regular Cooper S E, the JCW Trim supports direct current charging up to 95 kW and comes with an 11 kW on-board charger from the off.

Second quarter 2024 debut likely

On sale in Europe from next year with pricing still to be announced, the Cooper S E JCW Trim is expected to join the standard Cooper S E and Countryman range in the second quarter of 2024 when South African sales officially commence.

As such, expect an announcement, as well as prices, to be made then or in the run-up to the still unconfirmed local launch date.

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