I’m guessing that we may be suprised by the torque curve of the JCW variant. Perhaps I’m an optimist, but I expect better low end torque with very little (if any) lag.

Theo

I have an 05 MCS/JCW, and I love it. I’m generally not a fan of small cars. The MINI is the only one that has a “feel” that I like. I just don’t feel comfortable with other high powered small cars.

I test drove the STi and the Jetta with the turbo. I didn’t care for either. The Jetta was weak feeling to me until 3000 rpm. At that point, the Jetta would SLAM me back into the seat regardless of throttle angle. The bad part to me is that ~3000 rpm is when I naturally wanted to shift gears, so it was an unplesant ride. The STi was another car that felt like all or nothing to me. Sorry, but turbos don’t appeal to me unless the base engine is more torquey. (I did enjoy my test drive in a ’87 Buick Grand National)

I like the seamless power delivery aspect of the current MCS/JCW powerplant. It just feels good to me. It doesn’t suddenly feel like I pressed the TURBO BOOST button in KITT, it just feels like a powerful engine in a small car. (Just like I like it.) I hope the new MCS/JCW isn’t a peaky car. Maybe it’s great for a race car to work that way, but it gets tiresome on the street.

In regards to the new JCW being more of a total car upgrade, I have to dissent there as well. I got my JCW at delivery, but I put off the decision to the last minute. In the future, owners who dawdle too long won’t have nearly as easy an upgrade path. I like the piecemeal approach offered now, and I especially like the fact that the upgrade(s) can be done in any order and at any time after delivery.

I only have the JCW engine tuning kit, but it’s not like I have a lousy suspension or lousy brakes. As things are now, I can add the other stuff whenever I want.

Rawhyde

We need you to engineer a boost controller and airflow converter for this cool little British/German car we all like.

I agree with fdavid.

No. The S doesn’t stand for supercharged.

I’m with you – especially with the ’05 gearing. Before I’d driven the car I was thinking JCW, but after a nice hour-long test drive up and down the highway in KC all by my lonesome, I was convinced that 170 bhp is plenty for me. As for the comparison to EVO’s and and STi’s, not only is the MINI a smaller displacement engine, but the car is a lot lighter as well – so massive amount of bhp isn’t as necessary for good healthy vroom vroom. Sure, all in all those cars may have even still have a slightly higher power:weight, but they’ll never be as charming.

So why would anyone buy a GP?

Given the GP’s rather unimpressive stats, I’ve been wondering that since way before this news broke. The only draw I can see is that it’s rare, not so much because it’s all that special.

I can’t wait until Randy Webb gets his hands on one of the new MCS’s, puts it through its paces, and then starts pushing the power plant. Then we’ll really see what’s possible to get reliably from the engine in terms of power.

220hp/205lb.ft. sounds good to me so long as the weight of the new car is not increased too much. I also like the idea of “functional” aesthetic additions i.e. larger front vents for cooling. Hopefully, it will give the car a subtle air over the less focused models.

If it’s as good as it sounds, and it doesn’t cost an extra 5k over the standard S (something in the 3-3.5k would be acceptable depending on other refinements), sign me up. If the new Works can’t come in at a decent price, the aftermarket is going to own the new model. For $600, you can buy an APR or GIAC chip that gives the new VW GTI/GLI almost 50 more horses and 75 extra in the torque department. Add a cat-back and you’re done. Ah, turbos…

With that said, turbos and superchargers all have their limitations, and I wouldn’t say one is better than the other. It is all in what you are looking for. All of the performance aspects of using a supercharger rely on mechanicals. While the turbo relies on mechanical and computer controlled. They are also somewhat cheaper than a blower.