US website Left Lane News has some great spy pics of a new MINI John Cooper Works prototype. It’s understood sales of the flagship JCW model have been below expectations and to help put things right MINI plans to make the model more attractive to buyers.
One angle MINI has chosen to tackle the issue is to give the bodywork a once over to make it more unique against the regular MINI range. You can see from the image above that there are plans for a rear diffuser which is heavily inspired by the MINI Challenge racecars. The camouflage also indicates changes to the side skirts and front end spoiler are also in the pipeline. It is expected this new aero-kit will be factory-fitted for MY11 JCW models.
MotoringFile expects power for the JCW to be up slightly to around 215bhp (160kW) with efficiency improvements of around 10%, as well. MF also tells us production is expected to start in September and the car will be on display at the Paris Motor Show in October.
There’s plenty of pics in the Left Lane News article, so make sure you check them out.
[Source: Left Lane News via MotoringFile]