The Mini John Cooper Works Clubman gets a new 301-hp engine for 2020—and a boost in price, too. After driving the updated JCW Clubman on the outskirts of Frankfurt we found the car was eager to take twisty roads and happy to drive at high speeds in the autobahn. But at $40,000, the JCW Clubman has a hard price to justify.
So, besides that powerful engine, what else does the 2020 Clubman in JCW form get you? Let’s have a look.
Standard All-Wheel Drive
All JCW Clubmans get a 2.0-liter engine mated to an eight-speed automatic that sends power to the front and rear wheels. The manual is gone for this year and there are no front-drive models, though this AWD system is front-drive biased and can split the torque 50:50 depending on the road conditions.
Bigger Brakes
More power means better brakes. At least in Mini language. The JCW Clubman gets upgraded brakes that, during our drive, provided good feel and stopping force. The brakes feel more responsive than the regular Clubman and the four-piston, fixed caliper discs on the rear did a pretty good job on the German country roads. Plus, they also look rad with the red paint.
Sport Chassis
View 34 Photos
The performance-oriented model gets a chassis that was specifically tuned to deliver a sportier drive. Besides being 10 mm (0.4 inches) lower than the regular Clubman, the JCW’s suspension was optimized in order to increase its rigidity. The electronically controlled dampers provide a more agile drive when Sport mode is engaged, but they can be tuned down when you want a calmer ride with Green mode.