Pricing for the 2012 MINI Roadster has finally been announced, with the standard Cooper Roadster starting at $24,350 in the US. Those seeking a little more thrill in their droptop can opt for the Cooper S Roadster which starts at $27,350.

And those looking for the ultimate in Cooper Roadster fun, can get their hands on a John Cooper Works Roadster at $34,500 – all prices exclude a $700 destination and handling fee. All models come with a manual transmission as standard, but an automatic can be had for an additional $1,250.

The MINI Roadster features a soft-top roof which can be opened and closed quickly and easily. The standard MINI Cooper Roadster comes with 121-hp and 114 lb-ft of torque with a 1.6L four-cylinder gasoline engine; while the MINI Cooper S Roadster packs 181-hp and 177 lb-ft of torque thanks to the addition of a twin-scroll turbocharger. Lastly, the John Cooper Works Roadster has an impressive 208-hp and 192 lb-ft of torque through a 1.6L four-cylinder turbocharged engine. 0-60 mph in the John Cooper Works Roadster is a respectable 6.3-seconds with a top speed of 147-mph.

Both the Cooper and Cooper S Roadsters come with 16-inch wheels standard, while the John Cooper Works variant will sport 17-inch rollers.

GALLERY: 2012 MINI Roadster

Click here to read AutoGuide’s 2012 MINI Coupe Review

MINI has been experiencing tremendous success in America and it appears that the cute British brand has no plans to slow down. There are now reports that MINI is strongly considering bringing its diesel powerplants to the U.S. and could be turning John Cooper Works into a sub-brand tuning division, similar to BMW‘s M models.

MINI global brand manager Kay Segler recently told Car and Driver that they’re listening to America’s demand for MINI diesel models and that they are “looking into this not for the short term, but for the medium term.” Which basically means America could be seeing a diesel MINI in the next few years, possibly when the third generation model arrives.

In the same interview, Segler also spoke on how he would like John Cooper Works (JCW) to become for MINI what the M brand has become for BMW. That could lead to interesting models from JCW, which would include more potent powerplants and we never complain about more performance.

The major downside of the interview? Selger confirmed that AWD still isn’t on the radar for MINIs (Countryman aside), stating that it’s currently too expensive to implement without a large sales volume increase. Either way, we’re just glad that MINI isn’t sitting around enjoying their American success but rather looking for ways to build on it.

[Source: Car & Driver]

MINI‘s JCW Countryman took a bow in Austria, revealing the next generation of high-performance John Cooper Works variants. No specific details have been released on the new JCW Countryman, but rumor has it the 1.6-liter turbocharged powerplant will have at least 215-hp, while the suspension has been tuned with stiffer spring rates and lower the vehicle 0.40-inch.

Larger sway bars in the front and the rear, along with a brake upgrade will also outfit the JCW Countryman. The prototype (pictured above) doesn’t completely reveal the finished product, but it’s clear that JCW’s variant of the Countryman gets some major styling upgrades including a new grille, front bumper, wide wheel arches, rear bumper with diffuser with integrated dual exhausts.

MINI has announced it will hold a press conference at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show in January and so the world premiere of this model is a possibility.

GALLERY: MINI JCW Countryman

[Source: MotoringFile]

MINI wanted to celebrate its return to the world of rallying with the MINI WRC Team in the FIA World Rally Championship by offering a new accessories package for Cooper S and SD Countryman owners. The MINI John Cooper Works Championship tuning package pays homage to MINI’s new rally star and gives owners a nice rally theme to their vehicles.

Features of the accessory package includes checkered-flag stripes and the number 37 on the side of the car, paying homage to Dani Sordo who currently drives in the WRC. In addition, side scuttles in a special package design are included alongside additional fog lights. To round it all off, a John Cooper Works aerodynamic package is included color-matched to the vehicle.

Available as an option are a set of double-spoke R129 wheels in matte black. The package is now available at MINI dealerships, but no pricing was announced with the press release.

Hot on the heels of MINI’s Coupe release is the announcement of the 2012 MINI Roadster and the various versions it’ll be offered in. The new MINI Roadster will be the company’s first manually-opening drop-top two-seater and will be North American showrooms in mid-2012. Compared to the MINI Cooper Cabriolet, the MINI Roadster will be 0.1-inch shorter, 1.9-inches narrower and 1-inch lower.

Standard to the Roadster will be electric power steering and Dynamic Stability Control while Dynamic Traction Control with Electronic Differential Lock Control will be optional. Roll-over bars in polished stainless steel and a rear spoiler that automatically extends at 50-mph further adds to the Roadster’s sportiness.

The 2012 MINI Roadster will be available in four different models: John Cooper Works Roadster, Cooper S Roadster, Cooper Roadster and Mini Cooper SD Roadster (sorry, no diesel roadsters for North America). Both the John Cooper Works and Cooper S variants will be powered by a 1.6L four-cylinder with MINI TwinPower Turbo technology with the JCW model pushing 211-hp and 192 lb-ft of torque while the Cooper S packs 184-hp and 177 lb-ft of torque. The standard Cooper will feature a 1.6L four-cylinder with 122-hp and 118 lb-ft of torque. Last but not least, the SD will be powered by a 2.0L four-cylinder turbodiesel with Mini TwinPower Turbo technology making 143-hp and 255 lb-ft of torque.

No retail pricing was announced on the 2012 MINI Roadster.

GALLERY: 2012 Mini Roadster

Interested in the MINI Coupe? Read the review or watch AutoGuide’s video review here.

MINI has recently released the all-new 2012 Coupe and it will pack a serious punch. The company’s racing heritage will continue with this sporty two-door in the John Cooper Works Coupe Endurance. This race car has been developed to compete in this weekends 24-hour Nürburgring-Nordschleife circuit. MINI will race the “Green Hell”, as the track is affectionately known with two cars wearing numbers 146 and 147. Three other MINI teams will also track two cars each, making for eight MINI’s in a race of 250.

The race car gets a specially-tuned version of the factory produced John Cooper Works engine, packsinga 1.6-liter four cylinder equipped with a twin-scroll turbocharger and direct injection. The car will produce 250-hp with an over-boost function cranking out 330 lb-ft of torque and a top speed of 240 km/h.

The car looks and sounds great in the video and looks very quick. The exhaust system sounds mean and the minute and a half long video is definetly worth watching.

Check out the video after the jump!

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AC Schnitzer is laying claim that they sport the world’s fastest MINI, with their John Cooper Works-based AC Schnitzer Eagle. And while you’re probably thinking AC Schnitzer set some record on the quarter mile or out at Nurburgring, their test bed was actually the famed Grand Prix Circuit at Hockenheim. It was there that their Eagle laid waste to the track, clocking in a 1:13.341 lap time.

According to AC Schnitzer, that lap time is good enough to blow away MINI’s direct competition and only cars such as the X-BOW, M3 and AMG Mercedes were able to beat their Eagle around the track. To compare, BMW’s 1M Coupe recently logged a time of 1:14.1 in its 340-hp body. So AC Schnitzer has been able to fine-tune their Eagle to 260-hp and shaved off about 176-lbs and the result speaks for itself.

Unfortunately those interested in what AC Schnitzer has done to the John Cooper Works MINI in order to achieve this type of performance will have to sit in the dark some more. This was simply done as a concept study and will not be available for sale, as AC Schnitzer wanted to optimize all areas of the vehicle for efficient performance. What we do know is that along with the power upgrades (which includes a full exhaust), AC Schnitzer employed height-adjustable racing suspension and a set of 18-inch AC Schnitzer Mi2 wheels.

They did announce that the AC Schnitzer Eagle has a value of almost $89,000.

Check out a video of the beast after the break.

GALLERY: AC Schnitzer MINI Cooper Eagle

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So if you already thought the Coupe was mostly similar to the hard-top hatchback model, you now have another reason, with the base price just $900 more than the traditional MINI.

The mid-level S model starts at $25,300 and gets a turbocharger delivering 181-hp and 177 lb-ft of torque with a special overboost function producing 192 lb-ft of torque.

The high-performance John Cooper Works Coupe starts at $31,900 and gets a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder producing 208-hp and 192 lb-ft of torque with overboost allowing 207 lb-ft. This Coupe is capable of a 0-60 time in 6.1 seconds with a top speed of 149 mph. This makes the JCW Coupe, the  ”fastest-accelerating Mini ever (with) the highest top speed,” the company says.

GALLERY: 2012 MINI Cooper Coupe

The latest flavor of Cooper to join the MINI lineup is the all new Coupe. Yet another variant of the similarly styled Brit-car, this two-door forgets about even trying to have rear seats instead trading them for a small cargo shelf and a fixed rear wall.

With a more distinctive coupe profile the new model’s rear liftgate opens more like a hatchback and there is a rear passthrough for larger items. Easily the car’s most distinguishing feature is its roof which resembles a backwards baseball cap. Another major design piece that’s also a performance addition is an active rear spoiler that pops up at 50 mph and drops back to sit flush on the rear deck below 37 mph. John Cooper Works models (shown) can be distinguished by more aggressive aero package.

While unique chassis tuning is a part of the package, the car’s overall dimensions are much the same as the standard hard-top MINIs; as are the engines. Powering the base Cooper Coupe is the brand’s 1.6-liter 4-cylinder making 121-hp at 6000 rpm and 118 lb-ft of torque at 4250 rpm, delivering a 8.3 second 0-60 mph time. The Cooper S Coupe gets a turbocharger added to the mix to deliver 181-hp at 5500 rpm and 177 lb-ft of torque at 1600 rpm and with a special overboost function will bring on 192 lb-ft. MINI claims a 0-60 mph time of 6.6 seconds.

As for the gotta-have-it John Cooper Works model, it delivers a peak 208-hp at 6000 rpm and 192 lb-ft of torque at 1850 rpm, with overboost upping that number to 207 lb-ft. Edging ever-so-close to the 5 second range, this is the fastest MINI ever and will hit 60 mph in just 6.1 seconds.

Acceleration numbers for the base Cooper and the top-trim JCW are a 10th of a second faster than their hard-top counterparts, likely due to a reduced curb weight – although MINI has yet to release those figures. Tossing the extra pounds is sure to help in adding performance on all levels, while the fixed rear divider is also likely to improve the chassis rigidity, thus improving performance further. We’ll find that out later this year when we first get behind the wheel of the new MINI Coupe.

GALLLERY: 2012 MINI Cooper Coupe JCW

The all-new eagerly anticipated MINI Coupe is almost here. The all-new two-seater coupe is described as being an important competitor within the compact sports car class, a greater focus on performance compared to other MINI models. MINI describes its fine balance of the selection of engines, chassis set-up, weight distribution and aerodynamic properties, delivering optimum performance and superb driving pleasure.

The MINI Coupe will offer the Cooper, the Cooper S and the John Cooper Works Model. Surprisingly there will be no engines changes for the Coupe. Power will remain the same at 122-hp(base), 180-hp(S) and 208-hp(JCW). Both the Cooper and Cooper S Coupes are available with an optional six-speed automatic transmission or the six-speed manual transmission that comes fitted in all models as standard. An active rear spoiler is also offered on all Coupe models.

Outside, the car still retains the same MINI styling, but comes wrapped in a more aggressive package. Interestingly, the Coupe is actually based on the MINI Convertible, but with added bracing on the rear and sills, making it even stiffer than the current hatch. Pricing and weight have not yet been announced but we will soon have more information in the next few days.

GALLERY: MINI Coupe

[Source: MotoringFile]