With the coming speedster and coupe getting fairly extensive hardware changes, to the point of a wider track as mentioned here, we may finally see an R56 with a factory-built suspension that does not disappoint. That alone is great news. If that takes place even the power the turbo JCW (or even turbo S) has should prove more than enough as it will put power down more effectively, roll and dive/squat less, and thus be ultimately a much quicker car to drive than equivalently-powered S and JCW coupes. Want a fast point-to-point car (with points separated by curves)? Upgrade suspension first… THEN add power. All I have heard in the press releases for this car so far indicate MINI understands this.

I just hope that MINI keeps the weight as low as possible, and bump the power output just a bit. To borrow a phrase from Colin Chapman’s book, “add lightness!”

And keep the Broadspeed name – I love it!

The thing with the MINI, and what makes it so fun, is that it doesn’t NEED a ton of horsepower to keep up with cars with considerably more HP–it just needs to be driven well. I really don’t want it to compete with a Focus RS, at least from a HP aspect, would totally change the character of the car for me…

I do hope though that they keep them small and still fun.

• Entering WRC with a Countryman-based racer will absolve a lot of the Countryman’s sins. Having MINI in WRC in any form is a great halo to the entire product line, in fact. The R53 JCW (FWD and all) has done fantastic in Targa Newfoundland over the years. That isn’t WRC level of competition, but it is a pretty serious rally nonetheless with some well-funded cars.

• Broadspeed coupe… love this news as the more hard core and unique looking the better, as far as I’m concerned. The CRX was a fantastic car that was head-and-shoulders above the Civic Si in looks, driving feel, and interior styling. No reason MINI can’t shoot for this degree of distinction with the Broadspeed.

• Pricing… the famous-for-a-reason early 1990′s CRX was quite affordable, but it WAS about 15% more expensive than the Civic Si coupe, the closest competitor. Money well spent, mind you, but still a bit more money than the regular hatch. So I do expect the Broadspeed to sell for more than the Cooper S or JCW. I just hope MINI keeps the pricing “reasonable”.

• Z2… I hope this comes to fruition at BMW and look forward to more info on bimmerfile. It will potentially steal away a lot of the hard core MINI enthusiasts if the price is right for just one reason alone: RWD. :)

Its true that HPis not everything but to be honest the JCW is still well down on power from much of its competition (example focus rs). I would much rather see them spend the time an energy to make this the main performance car of the brand. Wish they would spend the time and energy they are burning into the R60 2 liter into making the Coopster something more than a little special. Thinking M here.

I don’t think I was ever this confused about what’s coming down the line from MINI as I am now.