MINI JCW Roadster rides the ‘Ring

MINI JCW Roadster pounding the Nurburgring

Now we’ve got the MINI Coupe out in the open, with and without its swirly black and white camouflage, it must be close to MINI doing the same with the Roadster. Which is probably why we have spy photos of the MINI JCW Roadster pounding round the Nurburgring – last shakedowns, we assume.

Because we can’t imagine MINI dragging out the reveal of the production model Roadster much past Frankfurt – if it takes that long – which will be a full two years on from when MINI first revealed the 2-seater MINI Roadster – the soft top twin of the MINI Coupe.

In truth, there’s not a huge amount to say about the Roadster that we haven’t already said about the Coupe. Except it’s had the top chopped off. But all the same plus points are there for the Roadster as the Coupe.

That is – or promises to be – a real MINI feel to the car with kart-like handling and proper point and squirt fun. The JCW in particular promises to be a hoot – assuming MINI has its shake, rattle and roll controlled with the top gone – offering over 200bhp.

The downside is probably goingt to be price, but I suppose that depends on what you’re comparing. By any sane measure a MINI – even a MINI Roadster with JCW goodness – at £25k plus is mad. But then  if you look at what is comparable in terms of performance and kit, it’s not.

The cheapest Audi TT will set you back what the MINI JCW Roadster is expected to cost – a bit over £25k – but to match the performance of the JCW Roadster you’ll have to spend £10k more on a TT. So perhaps we shouldn’t look at the headline price with the MINI, but rather what it would cost to get similar elsewhere.

And then the money doesn’t seem so daft.

(11 photos – click any thumbnail for full gallery)

Nurburgring Spy Photo: WCF

By Cars UK