Electric Mini John Cooper Works to make its debut at Goodwood

After the JCW sports package, a full-fat Mini Cooper Electric John Cooper Works is coming soon. A prototype of the sporty electric hatchback will make its public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where it will storm up the hill wearing a light layer of camouflage.

Whereas the John Cooper Works trim only gave the Mini Cooper SE a more sporty look and left its 160 kW (218 hp) drivetrain alone, this ‘real’ Mini John Cooper Works E should also improve performance for the pocket rocket without an exhaust.

Different powertrain, but how so?

Unfortunately, Mini doesn’t even hint at what we can expect under the hood of the new Mini JCW E. Will it feature a two-motor drivetrain with over 300 hp, like in the Mini Countryman SE? Or will it simply ‘overclock’ its current front-wheel-driven powertrain?

Perhaps we will know more next week when the Goodwood Festival of Speed opens its doors from 11-14 July 2024. There, the new flagship version of the Mini Electric will make its public debut setting times at Goodwood’s famous hillclimb, although with a layer of camouflage made up of a pattern of different racetracks.

Cooper E, SE, and JCW E

To recall, the new generation of electric Minis currently consists of two model variants: the Cooper E (184 hp, 40.7 kWh, 305 km WLTP) and the Cooper SE (218 hp, 54.2 kWh, 402 km WLTP).

The electric Mini exists in parallel with the gasoline-powered version, which features a similar design but is based on a different platform and is also available with five doors, while the Mini Electric is a three-door only. This new Mini JCW E will slot above the Cooper SE, but will likely keep the same battery pack, given its compact size.

Goodwood

In recent years, there has been a trend in the automotive industry to use the Goodwood Festival of Speed, once launched as a motorsport event, for premieres or prototypes. As there is no major motor show in the UK anymore, manufacturers have increasingly booked major brand appearances at the Festival of Speed to show new models to the public.

Often, they take part in the legendary ‘Hill Climb’ at Goodwood with prototypes and one-offs. Porsche previously sent the Taycan to Goodwood before the world premiere, VW set a new record at the Hill Climb with the ID.R electric racing car, Ford showed a spectacular electric Transit Custom as a racing car in 2022, and Hyundai presented the Ioniq 5 N last year, to name just a few examples.