Are you going to Festival of Speed next week? Of course you are. Say what you will about the Duke of Richmond’s back garden, but it does make for a nice day out. So long as the sun is out, of course. And you like the smell of unburnt fuel. Or, as is increasingly the case, the sound of near silence. Electric cars were once a novelty at FoS; now, they comprise an outsized contingent - not just among the new stuff that manufacturers are desperate for you to like, but also at the top of the hill climb leaderboard.
The all-new Mini Cooper John Cooper Works E will probably not trouble the McMurtry Spéirling’s record-breaking time, but its appearance at Goodwood is significant nonetheless. For one thing, this is the model’s dynamic premiere ahead of its official reveal in the autumn, so while it will be in camouflage (itself an homage to the firm's motor racing heritage) we’ll obviously get a very good idea of what to expect when the covers finally come off.
For another, we’ll get a vague notion of just how punchy the JCW E actually is. This is interesting because we’re still not sure exactly how adventurous Mini has been with its performance. Its petrol-powered sibling gets 231hp in outgoing format, and its replacement is widely expected to remain in that ballpark - but the battery-electric version, which already outputs 218hp as a Cooper SE, could potentially top that figure by a wide margin. Especially when you consider that (sort of) rivals like the recently facelifted Cupra Born now top 300hp.
While the smart money is on the JCW E retaining its front-drive layout and replicating the performance of the combustion version (i.e. 0-62mph in 6ish seconds) it would not be a bad time for Mini to lay a marker in the segment, given that smaller cars are seen as a good way of reigniting the public’s faltering interest in EVs. Although based on the PROtotype’s modest styling overhaul, we’ll probably have to wait for Mini to get around to electrifying the GP badge before something truly hair-raising turns up. Still, next weekend will at least give us some idea of how far it has already taken the concept of a speeded-up supermini.
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