Mini Debuts Spicier 2025 JCW Models With a Healthy Torque Bump, Starting at $39,195

The convertible will cost you $44,695

(Images: Mini)

Following up the standard Mini hatchback and convertibles, here are the hotter JCW versions.

Over the past few months, Mini’s been on a tear updating their entire lineup, including the bedrock hatchback and convertible. After the electric model made waves and the gas-powered Mini Cooper models followed suit, you know what’s coming next: the John Cooper Works variants. That’s what we have here today, as the 2025 Mini Cooper JCW 2-door hatchback and convertible models make their first official appearance before going into production next month.

For their part, Mini is calling this brand revamp the most significant in its 65-year history. As far as the JCW models go, you broadly see similar changes to the other versions: a new octagonal grille, those characteristic oval-shaped headlights and love-them-or-hate-them Union Jack taillights. Being the higher-performance version, these cars go a bit farther with wide, nostril-looking air vents to feed air to the turbocharged 2.0-liter engine. Exclusive 17 and 18-inch wheel designs are available to the JCW as are optional hood stripes, though Mini strangely decided to ditch the hood scoop (likely because of those upper ducts) with this redesign.

Under the hood, the turbo four-pot still offers the same 228 horsepower as before…but you get much more torque. Instead of 235 lb-ft, the new hatch and convertible put out a hearty 280 lb-ft. So it should feel a little meatier judging by the seat of your pants, but Mini says that the 2-door hatch still sprints from 0-60 in 5.9 seconds. If opt for the convertible, you’re looking at something like 6.2 seconds — not bad, but not insanely quick by today’s standards. Top speed, if you’re interested, is pegged at 155 mph (152 mph for the convertible).

Sadly, there won’t be a manual option this time around.

If you’ve seen the latest Mini interiors, then nothing inside the 2025 Mini JCW 2-door and convertible will shock you. Apart from the sportier touches including a thick perforated steering wheel, the JCW gets the same new 9-inch circular OLED display and the center stack toggle bar. Speaking of that toggle bar, you’ll get controls for the 7-speed dual-clutch transmission, but like the rest of the Mini lineup, there’s no manual transmission available. Even with some internal efforts to save it, the way forward will be automatic only, at least as long as there are still gas-powered Minis to speak of (and the company reassured everyone there will be for a few more years).

Pricing for the 2025 Mini JCW models starts at $39,195 for the 2-door hatchback. If you want the convertible, then prepare to spend at least $44,695. Particularly with the hardtop, that is a hefty price increase, though Mini took the tack of offering more standard equipment in the “Signature” trim, then giving folks an upgrade path from there, and dropping the base “Classic” model. The automaker didn’t dive into more specific trim information with Tuesday’s release, but taking a similar approach with the JCW would mean a slight price drop for the hardtop in an apples-to-apples comparison, and a few hundred dollar price increase for the convertible. For now, all we have is base pricing, but JCW models will likely still top out between $45,000 for the 2-door hatch and $50,000 for the convertible, once you pack on the options.

2025 Mini JCW hardtop and convertible models will hit dealerships in January.