We’ve heard rumors to the effect that MINI was secretly planning a special version of the JCW coupe for late in the R56’s model run but nothing had been substantiated until very recently. While we know very little about the car, the engine or even the timing of such a model, we do know that MINI is in the early stages of building prototypes at the Oxford plant to be finalized in an undisclosed Munich location.

Specifically we’ve heard from several sources that a Chili Red/Black JCW test car recently spotted going down the final Oxford assembly line with no back seats and several sound-system components missing. It was labelled a T-car which is the plant’s term of an internal test car used for new models.

From a timing perspective this works well with the rumors we’ve heard over the last year or so. It also works with the strategy MINI (and BMW for that matter) have perfected over the years – i.e. saving the fastest most extreme example for the latter part of a car’s production run.

Always keep an eye on MF for further information in the coming weeks and months.