2005 JCW Cooper S To Get HP Increase

Nothing has been confirmed yet but it would appear that the 2005 JCW kit for the MCS will be adding some power. We've been hearing figures from several sources that the 2005 kit will have an output from anywhere between 210hp and 220hp. The one thing that we've consistently heard from all our sources is that this new found power will be made available to current JCW owners for around $500 plus installation. However there are no details on what exactly the $500 will buy or the actual price of the 2005 kit.

While it's important to note that nothing has been made official yet I would expect we'll be able to confirm this shortly.

As reported previously JCW is planning on releasing a number of accessories later in the year. The first to come state side were the 18″ wheels in March of this year. Next up will be the carbon fiber dash board (not the currently available set of stickers but the one seen on the MC40) to be released in August. After that should be suspension components and a brake kit among other things. Expect news on these items shortly.

Udpate: Minty over at MINI2 has some updates on the JCW suspension kit. You can read all about it here.

Udpate 2: I just had this confirmed again from someone within MINIUSA. He also said that to his knowledge there won't be a price increase on the kits. Apparently MINI wants them to more competitive.

Also the new JCW US catalogue will be out early this fall. The inital catalogue will only be four pages in length but they see it growing quickly. The inital offerings will consist of what's already available in the UK. Much of it will be labeled “off-road use only”.

In other news it seems that MINIUSA was working on putting side airbags into the JCW seats for sale in the US. The person I spoke with wasn't sure how that was going but he seemed to think if it didn't work they would still offer the seats but label them for “off-road use only”