The WC50 to Get Production Bump

Sections: JCW WC50 Sep 24th, 2009 42 Comments

The ultra limited edition is set to get a 250 unit production bump bring the total made to 500. According to several sources MINI is doubling production due to more demand than originally expected from mainland Europe among other places.

It’s also been made clear to us that the US market is almost certainly not getting the car due to pricing issues.

For those who might have missed it, here’s the full spec of the John Cooper Works World Championship 50.

Standard Equipment

6-Disc CD Changer
Alarm System (Thatcham Cat1)
Anthracite Headlining
Automatic Air Conditioning
Bluetooth Telephone Audio Connection
Car Jack
Chrome Line Interior
Colour Line, Rooster Red
Comfort Access
DAB Radio
Darkened Rear Glass
Exterior Mirror Pack
Front Fog Lamps
Front Passenger Airbag Deactivation Switch
Full Bluetooth Preparation with USB Audio
Harman Kardon Hi-Fi System
Heated Front Seats
Interior Lights Pack
Multi-function Controls for Steering Wheel
Navigation System
Park Distance Control (PDC), rear
Passenger Seat Height Adjustment
Run-flat Tyres
Storage Compartment Pack
Universal Remote Control
Visibility Pack
Voice Control
Warning Triangle and First Aid Kit
White Indicators

Special Edition Content:

Connaught Green
17″ Cross-Spoke Challenge Alloy Wheels in Jet Black
Additional Driving Lights, Black
Bi-Xenon Lights with Black Interior Reflectors
Bonnet Stripes in Pepper White without Pin-Stripes, with John Cooper Signature on – - Driver’s Side
John Cooper Works 3-Spoke Sport Alcantara/Leather Steering Wheel
John Cooper Works Aerodynamic Kit
John Cooper Works Carbon Fibre Bonnet Scoop
John Cooper Works Carbon Fibre Front Door Grips
John Cooper Works Carbon Fibre Interior Trim with John Cooper Signature Plaque
John Cooper Works Carbon Fibre Mirror Caps
John Cooper Works Carbon Fibre Rear Diffuser
John Cooper Works Carbon Fibre Tailgate Handle
John Cooper Works Floor Mats, Carbon Black with Red Stitching
Leather Gearshift Gaiter, Carbon Black with Red Stitching
Leather Handbrake Gaiter, Carbon Black with Red Stitching
Side Scuttle Finisher Chrome Frame with Edition Number (0-250)

Special thanks to many sources including Liam.

Written By: Gabe

bee1000

Eh, no big loss.
rkw

Nice retro touch to include the CD Changer, and makes it an ultra limited edition indeed.
Billy

No loss either. I wouldn’t want to drive around a mini that looks like a watermelon.
hardingsan

gabe (or motoringfile), can you provide more information on the buttons around the shifter (shown in this shot)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/motoringfile/3563420761/sizes/o/

i would assume that the joystick is some i-drive voodoo with the nav system, but it looks like the 3 standard buttons are on the front. what are the other 2 on either side of the sifter?

thanks!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=902505721 Josh Hway

Those two buttons by the joystick are there on any new mini with nav.
Porthos

All it looks like is a MINI with every option and a special color with John Cooper signatures. I can live without. They need to make a R56 GP with a super stripped and powerful.
KPH

OK fine, not for the US. How about just the Connaught Green being available?
Jon E

I’m surprised that they didn’t make the JCW suspension a standard feature.
that.guy

Will the colour live on?
http://www.motoringfile.com/ Gabe

Seems like quite here a few missed all of our previous coverage of the WC50 earlier this year. We have podcasts and quite a few articles with specifics and answers to the questions above.
MikeJCW

Yeah, even the GP came with the JCW suspension so to not provide this but yet add all of the other stuff is strange and out of place/character.

Since it only drops the car 0.4″ it would work in all markets.
beken

I’m pretty sure I saw one of these in Alberta, Canada back in August. It pulled into the parking lot of the hotel I was staying at. It caught my attention because of the non-metallic green and the carbon fiber mirrors. Maybe it was a one-off in N. America for evaluation purposes, but I have not seen another MINI like that one. Or somebody customized their MINI that way. It’s not exacty attractive, in my opinion, but it certainly was eye-catching.
Huckleberry

I wouldn’t have been able to afford it but I think it looks awesome. I would have loved to own one myself. That green looks a lot better then the current green they offer. Hopefully that color will be an option in the future as I would get that on my next Mini. Maybe they can get rid of one of the blues that they offer.
Melis

@hardingsan gabe (or motoringfile), can you provide more information on the buttons around the shifter (shown in this shot)

The tall knob is the joystick, and the button to the left is the Home button, while the Right button is the Application Switcher. Clicking that switches between Entertainment, Nav, & Phone. The MINI Nav ‘iDrive’ system is so much better than any BMW iDrive I’ve used.

The 3 front buttons are: Left – Sport Middle – Blank (I’ve had two USA R56s and never seen a useable button in anyone else’s MINI) Right – DSC Switch Now these may be reversed in places like the UK, Japan, Australia, etc, since the driver is on the other side.
Melis

I think the market for such an expensive, yet limited edition MINI would be limited, but people would buy them. I wouldn’t because I already have an R56, but its always nice to see a limited run MINI on the road, whether its a GP, MCS40, Sidewalk Edition, or now the MINI E.
Metalman

Looks like the factory parts bins were getting overloaded with extra carbon fiber trim items. Good thing the WC50 came along. The world will be in balance again.
Micah

Hopefully the new non-metallic green exterior color, along with the option for black headlight surrounds (also used in the Coupe’/Broadspeed concept) will make their way to our shores.

One thing I am somewhat confused about: why do the “high-performance” versions like the WC50 and Broadspeed concept come with such luxury-focused interiors with leather seats, nav, and 18-speaker stereo systems? For me, a performance car should have a driver-focused interior that features lightweight bolstered sport seats and no extraneous features like high-end stereos and navigation that only serve to add excess weight (speakers, wiring, and electronics are surprisingly heavy) and unnecessary cost.
hardingsan

thanks, melis!
Franticfreddy

Yes, what Micah said. If it’s a drivers car why all the glitz? I am not thrilled with the interior and I don’t care for the nav system. But, Ohh that color! And with the darkened glass, yea baby!!
http://www.AUSmotive.com Liam

Seems odd, and disappointing, that the US isn’t in the frame to get some WC50s, especially as little old Australia could be getting as many as 10 out of the 500.
ftttubrgcm

Out of the thousands of MINIs/Minis I saw at MINI United this year at Silverstone, this one was my favorite. Sorry it won’t come to the US but MINI USA, please bring the color at least.
Pingback: I Love My Mini | Gerald R. Lucas, Photographer
http://grlucas.com/ GRL

Truly beautiful. None for the US? :-(
http://www.fes-auto.com Dr Obnxs

MINI has got to be stoked! Ca-CHING!!!!!!

And I think that they loaded it up with options as part of the pricing strategy.

Hay Gabe, gotta change the last item “…with edition number (0-500)” now.

Matt
r.burns

Some don’t understand that Mini Cooper S is not Lotus Elise

Extraneous features aren’t really a problem, in contrary it magnifies the Mini
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1603186233 James Russell

I am disappointed that it is not coming. It is the perfect color combination. The spec sheet is a bit off from what I would choose. Who needs a CD changer anyway with iPods. However I love the exclusive interior and badging. Besides it would look great next to my ’67 S.
goat

Fantastic heritage colour, but ungainly looking stance at that ride height. MINI really should be ashamed to release no less than a Factory JCW with all that power and a soft high-riding suspension. Likewise, the interior centre stack trim is horrific to look at after seeing what it could be with higher quality (or at least dark) plastics (“woulda, coulda, shoulda…”).

When the highest-trim small-production-number edition car has such glaring shortcomings, you know MINI’s mid-cycle refresh can’t come soon enough! This is definitely no GP.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1145665586 DUDE!

Love this MINI, it’s the only MINI since my ’04 MCS and the GP that any has interest for me.

Can’t figure why the cost of this would be any harder to take than any other MINI? Some paid out $38,000+ for a Clubman?
Micah

@r.burns

The plush leather seats as specced on the WC50 look like you’d slide straight off at the first quick corner. For a car that is billed to celebrate MINI’s F1 and racing heritage, this seems odd to me.

All I am asking is that MINI provide the option for a harder-core, less luxury focused spec for those of us who want it. In the euro market many manufacturers have done this to great success with hatchbacks like the Renault Megane R26R, Ford Focus RS, and Honda Civic Type R, and I believe MINI would have similar success with a driver focused hatch released to the NA market. Hopefully the Broadspeed will be this car…I just hope it does not come standard with all of these luxury options like nav and leather that many of us do not want. And please let it come with some real sport seats like the Recaros that were in the Euro-spec GP.

Folks who want more luxury options should have that choice, but let’s keep it as that: an option.

Respectfully submitted as a MINI enthusiast.
http://www.motoringfile.com/ Gabe

The plush leather seats as specced on the WC50 look like you’d slide straight off at the first quick corner. For a car that is billed to celebrate MINI’s F1 and racing heritage, this seems odd to me.

First off I owned these seats (white and black) and can tell you the leather is anything but slippery. So no problems there. Secondly I can’t imagine any serious enthusiast would be on the track without some type of schroth harness to restrain them. That’s a mandatory IMO for any production seat.

All I am asking is that MINI provide the option for a harder-core, less luxury focused spec for those of us who want it.

I agree…. but that is not this car. This car is meant as a celebration and halo vehicle, not a dedicated track machine.

Hopefully the Broadspeed will be this carâ€¦I just hope it does not come standard with all of these luxury options like nav and leather that many of us do not want.

It will not come with those items standard. And yes, it will be closer to that car.

And please let it come with some real sport seats like the Recaros that were in the Euro-spec GP.

Cost issues there… it’s a lot of money for MINI to federalize dedicated Recaro’s with a passenger airbag sensor. Porsche does it but then again they charge $3000 for them. Could you really see enough MINI owners doing this and allowing BMW to recoup their investment?
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1145665586 DUDE!

For Recaros… Yes. I’d do the $3000.
Melis

Gabe, (not to hijack the thread)…which seats do you think have more support for the twisties and for comfort in general? The Punch Leather or the Lounge Leather? Thanks!
http://www.motoringfile.com/ Gabe

Gabe, (not to hijack the thread)â€¦which seats do you think have more support for the twisties and for comfort in general? The Punch Leather or the Lounge Leather? Thanks!

Lounge leather – softer and grabs a bit more.
-=gRaY rAvEn=-

Not coming to the US due to “Pricing Issues”…wtf ?

I read the list, so what’s so special about it ?

Had it been manufactured with a aluminum/CF frame and painted Carbon Fiber body panels resulting in some siginificant weight reduction, THEN I could understand the purported “Pricing issues.”

This is just a JCW Blinged out with all the extras…..
r.burns

Yes Lounge leather which I own too is very good

The color ! -=gRaY rAvEn=- the color ! one such exclusive color is very very very very… expensive It will be available for all JCWs in the future, but when ? it is not said.
Drill

@melis: I think the center button blank is used outside of North America for the Auto Stop/Start function.
GPJOHN

This cant be right. When i ordered one i was given written confirmation that they would only produce 250 ever by bmw themselves. If they do make more bmw will have a fight on their hands because i wont be happy.
Micah

@gabe

Thanks for the clarification Gabe.

Regarding the sport seats, my guess is that future Broadspeed and JCW R56 owners would probably be willing to shell out up to $1500 to have them. Beyond that, it seems like it could be worth it for MINI to subsidize the price, thereafter having true sport seats available as an option for all future vehicles.
brandon corie

can we get a set of those lights ? i want those head lights
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1145665586 DUDE!

GPJOHN….

Gosh, 250 – 500 is that really that big a deal? Now had they increased the output to 1500 I guess you’d have a bitch. I’ll take yours thank you very much and I’m not a GREEN car fan, just have it shipped to Pasadena, Ca., USA.
GPJOHN

jog on mate. they are only making 250 so good luck getting 1 for the usa lol
http://creditcounselingbulletin.com/ CC

<p>Love this MINI, it’s the only MINI since my ’04 MCS and the GP that any has interest for me.</p>

<p>Can’t figure why the cost of this would be any harder to take than any other MINI? Some paid out $38,000+ for a Clubman?</p>

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