Wow 2015 Mini John Cooper Works Hardtop Priced from $31,450

The 2015 Mini John Cooper Works Hardtop had already been revealed before its official debut at this week's Detroit auto show, but Mini today announced that the hottest of its hot hatch offerings will cost $31,450, including an $850 destination charge.

That is a tall price to pay for a hot hatch, considering that many of the Cooper JCW's rivals are cheaper. Mini may not be substantially under powered, with Mini managing to eke out an additional 20 horses from the Cooper S’ 2.0 liter engine, bumping it to a not-insignificant 228 hp, and 236 ft-lb of torque, but the dollar-to-horsepower ratio seems a little skewed in comparison to the car's rivals.\

2015 Mini John Cooper Works Hardtop Rear Three Quarter

From Ford, we have the much-lauded $20,770, 197-hp Fiesta ST and the $24,450, 252-hp Focus ST. Volkswagen enters the fray with its 2015 Golf GTI priced from $25,215 and packing 210 hp, and the bonkers 292-hp Golf R priced from $37,415. Mini must also do battle with the 258-hp 2015 Subaru WRX sedan priced from $27,090, and its 305-hp WRX STI variant stickering from $39,290. This is a saturated segment, but while the 2015 Mini John Cooper Works Hardtop may not present the best horsepower-per-dollar value of this grouping, Mini has high hopes for its premium performer.

“The John Cooper Works Hardtop is our halo model, the car that shows what Mini is capable of," David Duncan, Vice President of Mini USA told AUTOMOBILE. "We expect the JCW to do well in the segment, and has proven to do well in the past".

Still, Mini buyers get a lot of performance for their money. With the extra oomph from the new engine the JCW will pull from 0-to-60 in just 5.9 seconds with the standard six-speed manual transmission. For JCWs equipped with the six-speed automatic, that time rises by 0.2 second to that time.

It wouldn’t be a John Cooper Works special without some handling goodies, so the 2015 JCW features beefier brakes, an uprated performance suspension, and an optional dynamic damper control system.

2015 Mini John Cooper Works Hardtop Front Interior Seats

Both the interior and the exterior receive the JCW treatment as well. Bright graphics, larger wheels, and an endless list of factory customization options ticks all the hot hatch boxes. On the inside, cloth or leather sport seats match with a JCW sport steering wheel, with sport gauges and contrasted red accents throughout the cabin. The 2015 Mini John Cooper Works Hardtop goes on sale this spring.

Along with this street-car pricing figure, Mini announced its partnership with LAP Motorsports to compete in the Street Tuner Class of the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, where LAP Motorsports will be running modified 2015 JCWs in the race series later this year.

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