This Is The First Electric Mini John Cooper Works

The new Mini Cooper SE is a very good car – proof that an EV can be buckets of fun without resorting to silly power figures and that a Mini can still feel like a Mini, regardless of what’s powering it. It also doesn’t particularly want for pace, but there’s nevertheless a quicker version en route: the Mini John Cooper Works E.

John Cooper Works, of course, is the badge reserved for the very hottest of hot Minis, and it’s adorned some truly fantastic hot hatches since BMW revived the legendary small car in the early 21st century.

This is the first time it’ll appear on something powered by anything other than a fizzy petrol engine, though, so there’s a lot riding on it. Powertrain details are scarce for now, but it’ll obviously offer a hike on the Cooper SE's figures of 214bhp and 243lb of torque. Naturally, it should shave a few tenths off the SE’s 6.7-second 0-62mph run, too.

The slightly odd camouflage on this prototype, featuring lots of bizarrely inaccurate renditions of racetracks from around the world, doesn’t leave much to the imagination, either. It all but confirms that the JCW E will look pretty much identical to an SE in racy Sport trim.

The prototype will make its first public appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed from 11 to 14 July, where it’ll be tackling the famous hillclimb. We’ll get to see it shorn of its camo wrap later in 2024.

If the notion of an electric Mini hot hatch is utterly untenable to you, then don’t worry: Mini hasn’t forgotten about you – just yet. In line with the rest of the Cooper range, a petrol JCW will sit alongside the electric version in Mini showrooms and is also due for a full reveal later this year.