New JCW

[gary-tznge]

New JCW fitted with AC Schnitzer wheels and suspension courtesy of Rossiters , manual of course.

Rebel Green with Chester Malt leather and JCW Alacantara steering wheel

My 4th F56 JCW hatch in a row , I believe we should all support the Oxford plant and these cars have been faultless plus I deal with Ocean MINi in Torquay who over the past decade have been an absolute pleasure to deal with and would highly recommend them to the Forum.

The future direction of MINI remains to be seen and I guess we will wait to see the new JCW hatch the lack of a Manual is definitely a mistake in my humble opinion.

[wolfie28]

Very nice. We love our Mini, great cars in my opinion.

[gary-tznge]

Yep they are great cars in the real world, regardless of the nonsense about other brands offerings in this segment.

Drive this for a few weeks and then switch to other manufacturers and you will soon realise the difference in the overall quality.

Maybe in time we will all realise what a great car the F56 is and that it was available as a manual.

[Concerned of Cheshire]

My Mrs has a 2020 Cooper S hatch with a manual box, it's one of the last 192ps models and with 20k miles on the clock has 'loosened up' nicely, it really is quite good fun on the twisty roads. It's been totally faultless from day one. Wouldn't hesitate in buying another.

Edited by Concerned of Cheshire on Saturday 6th January 19:20

[clarki]

Mrs clarki went for a JCW on Sunday to replace her GTI.

Auto with Premium Plus in Nanuq white.

Collect this weekend from Sytner in Crewe, so bit of a road trip coming up (we’re in Glasgow).

She’s always wanted a mini so as you probably imagine lots of excitement in the clarki household right now.

Pics to follow…

[Mikebentley]

Nice car do you have any pictures of the interior and better exterior to show colour?

[gary-tznge]

Rebel Green always looks very black in pictures but this maybe a bit brighter.

Will take a few interior shots as the Malt Brown Chester leather interior is lovely.

[gary-tznge]

Taken at dealership on delivery.

[WayOutWest]

I think I am going for an F56 JCW next but need to decide on manual vs auto and 2018-on vs the fruitier sounding 2017 or earlier (where you can also get the Challenge exhaust).

Since it will be a weekend car (as I WFH) I did wonder about pushing the boat out to a GP3 if they dip under £30k, then again I've seen mixed reviews about it being a worse B road blaster than the JCW unless you change the suspension, tyres and geo.

[gary-tznge]

Have you driven GP3 it’s only average, I ordered one but dropped it on realising no Manual available.

JCW manual is definitely the way to go the cars character really shines through and strangely this car seems faster than my previous JCW which I didn’t expect.

Having said that MINI always seem to be refining and improving cars without saying as much .

See pic of my previous JCW manual of course.

[mikeswagon]

That looks gorgeous, lovely spec and good to see one with roof rails.

Here's my old Cooper which I ordered new in 2014.

[gary-tznge]

The roof rails added a bit of interest particularly as I went for the all Rebel Green car.
Was in two minds being honest but it worked out well.

Could have waited for new model but not entirely convinced.

Need to see new JCW hatch in the metal.

[gary-tznge]

Orange with Black roof and rails is very nice .

[mikeswagon]

gary-tznge said:

Orange with Black roof and rails is very nice .

Thanks, it wasn't plain sailing. When I ordered the car, the rails weren't an option, then I'd gone back in before production started and they were so I amended the order. In doing this I lost the black roof and mirrors so the big unveil, all Volcanic except the bonnet stripes... doh!

Shows how dark Rebel can be, I thought your roof was also black.

[clarki]

gary-tznge said:

Taken at dealership on delivery.

That interior does look superb.

[gary-tznge]

Classic colour combination plus the AC Schnitzer parts and I am a very happy chap.

AC Schnitzer parts are so well engineered and tested I would recommend to anyone wanting to improve there car MINI or BMW.

There has been a change since I ordered my parts from Rossiters to Motech who are now the AC UK Suppliers.

Rossiters are still supplying AC Schnitzer, have gotten to know Daniel and Lorcan at Rossiters and they are extremely knowledgeable and a pleasure to deal with.

Think it’s still possible to order a manual but the order book must be closing soon !!

The JCW Alacantara steering wheel is a factory order these days and a really nice touch.

[WayOutWest]

gary-tznge said:

Could have waited for new model but not entirely convinced.

Need to see new JCW hatch in the metal.

Some interesting rumours here. The same source last year hinted the F66 JCW might get a 260bhp engine - essentially one from the BMW 128ti - but now they are saying it will be a slightly cleaned up version of the existing 228bhp B48, and only available with a 7 speed DCT gearbox and no manual option.

https://www.motoringfile.com/2023/11/02/the-ice-20...

As for launch date, originally it was going to be November 2024 (8 months after the F66 Cooper S launch) but now could be earlier - March still seems hopeful though.

[gary-tznge]

I read that on Motoringfile , the new car is bigger and heavier so a little more torque doesn’t really sound like a step forward .

All comes down to production costs , as I said in earlier post I am not convinced with the direction of MINI but let’s see the new JCW .

The GR Yaris pointed the way forward for me , that I think is where the JCW hatch should be lighter , faster and possibly smaller after all we are talking MINi.

MINI have options with the Countryman ,Aceman etc to leave the JCW hatch as the stand out performance model.

[WayOutWest]

Well I doubt I will be buying an F66 new - surely it will be over £35k and maybe close to £40k. But if it knocks used F56 JCW prices down due to increased stock from people trading in for the newest model then I might hold off till March or later on buying an F56.

[gary-tznge]

F66 definitely going to be more expensive than F56

You are definitely right £40k even more for good spec cars.