The new MINI JCW hardtop is a terribly fun car to drive, both on and off the track. However, for some people the 231 horsepower it comes with aren’t enough to raise their adrenaline. To solve that problem the guys from BR-Performance have something interesting to share with the MINI community.
In a recent video published on their Youtube channel, they claim that their Stage 2 kit for the JCW model can take the power output of the 2-liter 4-cylinder engine up from the stock 231 HP to no less than 300 HP. The torque figure also goes up from 320 Nm (236 lb-ft) to 420 Nm (310 lb-ft). The Stage 2 upgrade comes with a new ECU map but also with a new carbon fiber air intake, a new exhaust system and an intercooler to keep everything in check.
The end result is indeed quite good looking and sounds like a machine gun at times. For the future, we’d also like to see the acceleration times from the upgraded model, that’s if you can keep 300 HP in check on the front axle.
In case you’re worried that the brakes are not replaced as well, fret not. The stock brakes have been created from the get-go to handle more than what the stock JCW can do. A source close to the brand told us that the whole car was developed around the front brakes that were seemingly the weak link in the previous iteration of the John Cooper Works hardtop. During our testing we noticed that brake fade never occurred, even though we did push the car to the absolute limit more than once.
