2003 John Cooper Works Mini Cooper S

Most of our well-informed readers know that the Cooper model name attached to the Mini brand represents a directly traceable automotive lineage and a real person. In fact, John Cooper was, among many other things, the first aftermarket tuner for the '61 Morris Mini; hence, Mini Cooper. Within a few short years, his Mini Cooper S boasted several prestigious racing titles.

Today, John Cooper's son, Michael, continues his father's illustrious work at John Cooper Garages, Ltd., a car dealership (still selling Mini Classics) and tuner shop in West Sussex, England. And now that Mini is part of the BMW Group, the relationship has been rekindled, and the fruits of the union can be enjoyed in the John Cooper Works tuning kit for the supercharged '02-'03 Mini Cooper S. In fact, it was BMW that approached Cooper the younger in the early stages of the Mini's development some three years ago. While BMW had the resources to underwrite the enhancements, Cooper had the know-how and the name to do it right.

With the wave of aftermarket upgrades, suspension kits, and other Mini-related paraphernalia either here or on the way, only one performance enhancement retains the car's original warranty: a dealer-installed $5000 John Cooper Works kit on any current Mini Cooper S. By fitting a higher-revving and higher-pressure supercharger, a new cylinder head that breathes more freely, an uncorked exhaust system, and BMW-revised engine management, JCW managed to squeeze 200 horsepower (a gain of 37) out of the 1.6-liter inline-four. As important, torque rose from 155 to 177 lb-ft at the same 4000-rpm engine speed, and we're told the fuel consumption is nearly identical to (perhaps even better than) the stock car. What does this mean? What was once an exceptionally fun-to-drive car becomes an absolute kick in the butt. Our drive through the English countryside was no less than breathtaking--and the views were pretty, too. Simply rolling into the throttle in any gear, we were immediately rewarded with the kind of thrust typically reserved for much bigger, thirstier cars. It may sound like an expensive bolt-on (and you can't do it yourself), but we're certain once all 1500 U.S.-bound kits arrive, they'll be gone in about 6.5 seconds along with happy(er) Mini Cooper S drivers.