http://www.mini.com/gone_fast

It will be interesting to see the weight on these JCW four spoke 18s. Looking as bad as they do, they had better be light!

if we’re talking OE i agree with you, gabe. the factory installed 18s feel ‘better’ than the factory 17s by far. i’ve only compared on the street, but it’s hard for me to say how much of the added feel and grip I’ve noted too is wheel/tire size and how much is tire design. my point re: the 18s is that theoretically at least a 17 of the same tech/design would be lighter and give up very little in regards to grip given that they’re both 205mm wide.

it is as with many things automotive a matter of preference… personally i like to be able to hammer down a less than perfectly paved road with my line and my chassis unfazed/unbent by potholes and the like so am a fan of the 16s (with NCT5s or preferably non-runflats; the Type R was a legend on 195/55s and LSD) and i’ve always felt part of the mini’s charm was that like the herbie love bug it did incredible things on tiny wheels).

just my .02…

And about those 18s… I’ve auto-crossed with every OEM wheel/tire combination there is back to back. The 18s have more feel and grip than anything else MINI offers. The only downside (beyond cost) is that they are a few pounds heavier (at 22lbs) than the 16″ wheels. This difference makes the steering slightly less lively. Of course they are also each 3lbs lighter than the S-lites so it’s still an improvment there. Anyway I’d gladly take the trade off personally.

As for the A/C delete, I’ll take my weight savings higher in the engine compartment via an Al hood, something that’s standard on a bread and butter Subaru Legacy.

The M3 LTW had an Al hood, and everyone I’ve known who had one cursed the lack of A/C more often than they appreciated the extra tenths of a second at the track. on a Type R Integra

This car is too much like the M3 ‘Competition’ – a track car more in name than in spirit… I wasn’t expecting the equivalent of the M3 CSL but other than the underbody paneling and the Al control arms i wish they had spent the money elsewhere…

It doesn’t weigh anything and you can turn it off. The DSC in the E39 M5 and the E46 M3 have always been too protective, and when I told Tom Salkowsky so and pointed out Porsche’s PASM and the Corvette’s Advanced modes were better at staying out of theway, had multiple thresholds, etc. he scoffed. Now the M3 Competition and the new M5/M6 haveM Dynamic mode, regular production cars have DTC, etc… that is what this car needs, not a delete option (even sillier than 18s on a

And something else to ponder – I find it hard to believe that if the JCW GP’s are the cars that are going to be produced at Bertone, it seems like alot of trouble to set up another assembly location for only a few modifications…

I think something is brewing.

“This car is simply a mock up of what will be (or roughly what will be) the new car. … The REAL MINI Cooper S with JCW GP Tuning kit will be shown first to the press and public at next years Geneva auto show. Only THEN can we truly shape an opinion of the exterior and interior treatment, and only some time after then will we be able to get a driving perspective on what all this means.”