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EVO Names JCW MCS Car of the Year Finalist

EVO magazine (one of our favorite old school printed sources of automobile entertainment) has include a JCW MCS in it’s car of the year group. While the old adage, “it’s an honor to just be included” is a tired one, it’s certainly true of the EVO “CoTY” group. Along with the MINI, EVO has such cars as the R8, Porsche GT3 and the Aston Martin DBS to play with. One notable absence is the car that has been so closely compared to the MINI recently, the Fiat 500. EVO addresses the lack of a 500 in the group by simply stating; “the bottom line is that it doesn’t succeed like the MINI”.

Here’s an excerpt from the MINI portion of the CoTY article in the 112 issue:

It is brilliantly throttle-adjustable and you need to use this to bring the back round as you enter the corner, then get back on the power to let the ront drag you on towards the next bend. The other is to trail-brake as you turn into the corner. This method soon become addictive as it instigates a hugely satisfying swivel of the MINI’s hips and sets all four wheels sliding so that the friendly little bonnet is point out of the corner very early in its radius. Once mastered, you can string corners together with dabs here, lifts there and a huge amount of speed. I love it.

You can read the entire article in the printed edition of EVO 112. While the MINI may not ultimately win (I think it’s safe to say we’re not giving anything too shocking away) it’s a highly recommended purchase.

Brian Dec 20th, 2007 Link

Does the MINI in the article only have the engine tuning kit or does it also have the JCW suspension?

Gabe Dec 20th, 2007 Link

Does the MINI in the article only have the engine tuning kit or does it also have the JCW suspension?

Sadly it only has the tuning kit and not the JCW suspension kit.

Jon Dec 20th, 2007 Link

Great press for Mini, great to see they appreciate this car. To bad it didn’t have the JCW suspension but still great to see this little car stand up to stiff competition.

cct1 Dec 20th, 2007 Link

Makes me really want to drive it–the way he drives it through the corner is a bit different than what generally generates the fastest times in the R53 (Many of the guys that are really, really fast in the R53, including the fastest I know of, really aren’t big fans of trail-braking in most corners–they do it sparingly in the R53). They usually get the braking done early.

Yucca Patrol Dec 20th, 2007 Link

Too bad the future factory JCW cannot be included in the competition.

Gabe, how about giving us some more dirt on the factory kit? Haven’t heard anything in weeks!!!

greg Dec 21st, 2007 Link

Nice. The squeeky wheel……

msh441 Dec 21st, 2007 Link

If it’s the same JCW that they have as their long-term tester… not only does it NOT have the JCW suspension… but it doesn’t even have Sport Suspension.

I’ll have to double check my last EVO, but I seem to also remember the presence of a LSD was questionable, as well (the comment “…could benifit from a limited slip differential.” was in there somwhere). Yet STILL they rave about it!

msh441 Dec 22nd, 2007 Link

Yep… double-checked and confirmed: The same dark silver R56JCW that CAR magazine tested in their Performance CotY article is now EVO’s long-term JCW driver and CotY contender.

It’s running standard suspension WITHOUT the LSD! Not that those options would change it’s position in either field (some pretty hard-core cars in both articles), but both are options that make a HUGE difference in the way the car behaves.

marksmith Dec 23rd, 2007 Link

My R56 JCW w/ sports suspension is my 3rd Works car (2xR53) and by far it’s the most engaging, fastest and all-around best of the bunch. Even better than my R53 Works car w/ many. many performance extras. . I do have light 13lbs wheels & Bridgestone REO50 non-runflats so the handeling is a bit enhanced over stock. I think the review is spot on. Bravo Mini & JCW

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EVO Names JCW MCS Car of the Year Finalist

Sections: In the Press | JCW | R56 (Coupe) Dec 20th, 2007 9 Comments

Written By: MF Staff