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Avenue of the Giants Weekend Run - Sat. March 23, 2024

Saturday will be a very full day of cruising from Novato up through the Avenue of the Giants and ending at Eel River Brewing in Fortuna. Sun...

2016 MINI JCW Hot Weather Testing In The US

MotoringFile reports a 230 bhp 2.0 liter turbo 2016 MINI JCW has been spotted hot weather testing in Death Valley, CA.  According to the article there have been some changes since debut of the concept vehicle:

  • Gone are the fog lights and in place extra cooling. The right side is blank but the left side clearly leads to an additional radiator required by the 230hp four cylinder.
  • The test mule didn’t have the rear defuser. Could this be something MINI is saving for the full reveal or saving for another more extreme model?
  • Gone are the subtle plastic fender flaps that gave the concept a slightly more aggressive look. We’re hoping they reappear in production form.
  • The car is clearly lower with a seemingly wider track
  • The brakes look to be iterations of the previous JCW four piston design and not the brakes from the R56 GP
  • The production car has the prototypes flared side sills