The endurance race was made more intense by the hot hatch.
Mini has created a huge wing, to which it has attached the John Cooper Works hardtop. The JCW will return to the Nurburgring’s 24-hour endurance race after a 10-year hiatus. Bulldog Racing will be fielding the little beast in the SP3T class at the 50 th edition on the famous Nordschleife. Mods were made to make the pocket rocket a race car with a single-seat cabin.
Now, the interior is stripped down and can accommodate a roll cage and an OMP seat that conforms to your body. To reduce the number pit stops for fueling, the fuel tank has been increased from the original 100 liters to 26.4 gallons. To reduce its weight, ‘s racing sibling replaces the glass windows with Makrolon panes.
The Mini JCW race car’s heart is a turbocharged four cylinder engine from the Clubman and Countryman. The engine produces 306 horsepower (225kilowatts) as well as 450 Newton-meters (331 pounds-feet). It is connected to the wheels by an eight-speed Steptronic transmission, which was carried over from street-spec. Engineers have added a mechanical differential lock with a locking effect up to 70% for optimal torque distribution.
The brakes are borrowed from the parent company’s BMW and its M Performance goodies. This provides stopping power. To make wheel changing faster and easier, the track-only JCW has a pneumatic lifting unit. The sports exhaust features a race-spec catalytic convertor. The radical aero package also includes a large rear diffuser, completely covered front splitter, and a massive rear diffuser.
The car was developed in just seven months. It will race on the German circuit of 25.378 kilometers between May 26th and 29th. Additional tests will be conducted on the Nordschleife and in Miramas, southern France, where the BMW Group has its testing center.
A spy shot has revealed that a new JCW roadcar is being built. It will likely be the last car with a combustion engine, considering Mini will become an EV-only vehicle by 2030.