The market for the go-faster Mini has become somewhat muddled and fragmented since the arrival, in 2015, of the top-of-the-current-series-production-pile John Cooper Works.
Since then, we’ve had the ultra-low-volume stripped-out 228bhp John Cooper Works Challenge limited edition, complete with adjustable suspension, Cup tyres and £32k price.
Then the slightly less rare but still limited Cooper S 210 Challenge Edition, built to celebrate the return of the Mini Challenge racing formula.
And finally, last year, the Cooper S Works 210: a permanent addition to the factory range that copied the mechanical recipe of the 210 Challenge Edition but was available with less lavish interior equipment and at a lower showroom price.
Oh, and don’t forget the John Cooper Works GP concept, which we saw a couple of months ago at the Frankfurt motor show; not that you’re likely to, given the extravagant scoops and aerofoils it had.
Anyone due to replace a Cooper S or JCW over the past year or two may have been waiting for his or her head to stop spinning.
