AC Schnitzer Mini Cooper S
AC Schnitzer usually turns their efforts toward tuning BMWs. Look like they have decided to take a shot at tuning MINIs too. Besides suspension and body kit, they have tuned it to have 49bhp more than the standard car.
>And without so much as a second glance we’re sitting on the speedy side of 140mph. Perhaps it’s not such a bad thing the new Mini’s speedo is enormous… Pressing down into the tarmac, the Schnitzer feels totally stable at this speed.
Sounds like it handles pretty well too.
>It’s not actually raining but the roads have that permanently moist winter film as we turn onto an almost alpine ribbon of tarmac twisting down to a reservoir. Nonetheless the Schnitzer S is somehow generating serious levels of grip. The gearshift is sweet and, as with the beautiful weighting of all the major controls, imbues the Mini with a level of quality that lifts it above what you expect from a hot hatch
Too bad they didn’t upgrade the brakes. Even MINI did that on the JCW MINI.
[ AC Schnitzer Mini Cooper S ] Evo.co.uk
Will agree with the brakes statement DB, any performance car has three area’s that are almost always improved on. Power/torque, suspension, brakes.
I actually forgive them on this though as the standard r56 brakes are the same as the ones on the r53 JCW kit already so nothing to bad to begin with.
What should be interesting to see is how the long term increase to 221hp is handled by the clutch and transmission from the standard car. For that alone I would lean more towards the Factory car. Then again the one this AC Schnitzer did was to make it visually different, something they have over Mini (although with painted arches *ick).
As a EVO subscriber, I read the article and thought it would be grand to have one, but unfortunately importing the parts etc is quite expensive and the software upgrade is EU only at this time.
While not a fan of the painted arches do have to say I like the rear clip better than the JCW kit. Though I still prefer the black trim on it as well.
The JCW Factory car cost around 21,000 pounds in the UK and this car is 27,800 pounds. That’s a 32% increase in cost.
In an attempt to Americanize that, the Factory JCW is $29,200 which means that in the states this would be $38,655 (same 32% increase as above).
I’d rather take the JCW Factory, add the $2K JCW Body Kit, $2K installed JCW suspension and save $5K for a nice roadtrip across the country.
Just my $0.02
I actually like the body kit better than the factory R56 kit, which is rare for me…
Bavarian Autosport sells AC Schnitzer products in the US, so I’m guessing they’ll sell this body kit as well.
I also prefer this body kit over both the standard kit and even the JCW aero. Granted it’s a very subjective item, but the painted arches (on this MINI at least) are stunning to me. Also that exhaust is seriously a work of art…
One thing I really wanna know is why in the hell are those seats not offered stateside!?! So sharp and perfect with the cream color line and PW/B exterior.
I’d love to see the dyno.
As Fireball Tim proved, and Gabe agrees, the factory brakes are hard to beat.
In most countries AC Schnitzer accessories are marketed by BMW and dealers, along with Alpina. Why they let them have MINI product when BMW already have in-house JCW is beyond me.