Kit up with John Cooper Works!

Kit Up! The MINI brand is inseparable from a famous name in motor sport
history: John Cooper. Even before the first series manufactured Mini
appeared in the showrooms, he had already developed a power-enhanced
brother. However, this only existed on the drawing boards of the Mini
designer and his close confidant Alec Issigonis. A legend was born.
Until this day the Cooper name is closely associated with the MINI brand
and so it is no wonder that Mike Cooper, the son of the legendary John
Cooper, already had a power-enhanced version in mind before the new
MINI was launched onto the market in 2001. Parallel to the series
development of the MINI, John Cooper Works already began with the
development of the series version power unit. This gave rise to two
attractive tuning versions of the MINI Cooper S and MINI Cooper models.
Apart from visual touches the two models are mainly differentiated by
their increased engine output and higher torque. The John Cooper Works
Tuning Kits: MINI Cooper S with 147 kW. By installing an even more
powerful and higher revving supercharger, John Cooper Works has turned
the MINI Cooper S top-of-the-range model into even more of a driving
machine. The performance figures can be compared to those of renowned
sports cars: 147 kW at 6,950 rpm give this power pack a top speed of
226 km/h. The generous torque of 240 Nm available at 4,000 rpm
catapults the powerful MINI to 100 km/h in only 6.7 seconds. The car's
pulling power is also very impressive: only 5.6 seconds are needed from
80 to 120 km/h. In order to be able to use the new supercharger with the
higher rpm level and load pressure, modifications to the cylinder head
and the engine electronics were necessary. A special rear silencer
gives the car a powerful acoustic impact. Power boost for the MINI
Cooper. Less dramatic than the JCW Cooper S the John Cooper Works tuning
kit for the MINI Cooper nevertheless boasts features such as a modified
cylinder head with higher compression, altered engine electronics as
well as a special air filter and rear silencer to boost performance.
Retrofitting the MINI Cooper in this way generates a maximum output of
93 kW already achieved at 5,750 rpm. Maximum torque is increased to 155
Nm and is available at 4,700 rpm. This power treatment gives the MINI
Cooper by John Cooper Works a top speed of 204 km/h and an acceleration
of 8.9 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h. The burst from 80 to 120 km/h in
fourth gear takes only 10.1 seconds. The John Cooper Works MINI Cooper
and MINI Cooper S tuning kits are available from all MINI dealers and
may be fitted to new as well as used cars. Warranty and Motorplan
benefits are not affected by the JCW tuning kits as they are fully
factory approved - service intervals also remain unchanged. In the case
of used cars, the existing Motorplan benefits will still apply. Prices
(including installation): JCW kit for the MINI Cooper - R26 500; JCW kit
for the MINI Cooper S - R43 285. New MINI prices: Cooper - R164 900;
Cooper CVT - R175 400; Cooper S - R206 100.
The suitable outfit for the power MINI. In order to emphasise the sporty
driving impression of the tuned MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S models, a
number of John Cooper Works accessories such as sports seats will
become available in the future. The sides of the sports seats are raised
for improved lateral hold, the shoulder area is reinforced and the
thigh support can be adjusted to provide greater comfort and safety.
The seats are available in nearly all regular colour and upholstery
designs and can also be ordered with seat heating. The Easy-Entry
function remains unchanged. A powerful MINI for a powerful racing
series: the John Cooper Challenge (UK). What could be more suitable than
driving the MINIs tuned by Mike Cooper on the racetrack? The idea of a
racing series, the John Cooper Challenge, therefore was not long in
coming and was already put into practice in 2002 in the United Kingdom.
The John Cooper Challenge is the first racing series for the new MINI
in which up-and-coming drivers and young talents can battle it out head
to head and show some thrilling motor sport action. Headed by Mike
Cooper, the John Cooper Works manufactures the tuning and retrofit kits
for the racing cars and highlights that sportiness is not only an image
of the MINI Cooper. Like the series model, the race version is
characterised by unsurpassed ease of handling and generous power. Due to
the enormous success of last year's series, this year will see the John
Cooper Challenge continued at renowned venues such as Goodwood or
Silverstone. One of the 10 racing locations is even planned outside of
Great Britain in Croix en Ternois, France. For detailed up-to-date
information please see www.johncooperworks.com John Cooper: the legend
lives. The history of Cooper began at the end of the 40s when motor
sport pioneer John Cooper founded the Cooper Car Company. Soon he began
with the production of small, competitive racing cars. With the Cooper
500 he had developed a vehicle, which made an entry into the world of
motor sport possible. One of his first customers was none other than
Stirling Moss. Drivers such as the 5-times world champion Juan Manuel
Fangio sat behind the wheel of the first Formula 2 racing car by
Cooper, still featuring a front-end engine. At the end of the 50s, when
private drivers were still among the winners, the first Cooper with a
rear engine rode it out with the big ones such as Ferrari, Maserati and
BRM who all were still racing with front engines. In 1958 Stirling Moss
drove the first rear-engined racing car to win a world championship race
- a concept which is still applied today. In 1959 Jack Brabham won the
first of two titles in the F1 constructor's world championship for
Cooper. Successful in all disciplines. John Cooper, however, was not
only active in Formula racing. In the 60s he achieved many successes
with the Mini Cooper based on the standard Mini model at racetracks and
on rally courses. The Mini Cooper won the Monte Carlo Rally between
1964 and 1967 three times for example. Even though the Mini Cooper was
very successful and popular, production was stopped by BMC in 1971
after 150,000 units had been produced. John Cooper, however, kept the
Mini Cooper brand name alive. In order to meet the growing demand for
Cooper cars, he produced tuning kits and accessories in the 80s for
turning the Mini into the Mini Cooper. In 1990 the Mini Cooper, still at
home under the Rover roof at the time, was brought back to life. The
demand for the nimble little car remained unchanged and John Cooper
produced numerous special models of the sporty Cooper S. In West Sussex,
John Cooper Works manufactured engine and chassis tuning kits for the
aging classic right up until the end. The powerful engines and the
almost legendary handling of his tuned Minis shape the sporty image of
the MINI Cooper to this day. With the death of John Cooper in the year
2000 a piece of racing history has been lost but his name will always
be associated with motor sport - and with MINI.