Mini has been hard at work improving their engines for 2010 and the results look good. By fitting BMW’s Valvetronic system Mini have been able to increase the power of their petrol engines while lowering emissions and fuel consumption.
The turbocharged 1.6-litre fitted to the Mini Cooper S gets the most from the upgrade. A new twin-scroll turbocharger, direct petrol injection and the Valvetronic system all help to increase power to 184bhp, with peak torque of 177lb.ft arriving at just 1600rpm. At the same time CO2 emissions have been reduced by 13g/km to 136g/km (dropping the Cooper S down from road tax Band F to Band E) while the combined economy figure is up to 48.7mpg on the combined cycle. The 0-62mph time for the hatchback is now 7.0 seconds and top speed is 142mph.
The top-selling Mini Cooper also benefits from the new engine enhancements, with the naturally-aspirated 1.6-litre getting a power hike to 122bhp (up 3bhp) and peak torque of 118lb.ft at 4,250 rpm. The Cooper hatch can now hit 62mph in 9.1 seconds and go on to a top speed of 127 mph. The Cooper also delivers 52.3mpg (combined cycle) and emits only 127 g/km of CO2.
Even the Mini One benefits by dropping it’s 1.4-litre unit in favour of the new 1.6-litre engine. Although the engine is a detuned version of that found in the Cooper it still offers 97bhp (up 3% on the 1.4) and the bigger engine manages to cut emissions and fuel consumption (now 52.3mpg combined). Performance is lukewarm at 10.5 seconds for 0-62mph with a top speed of 116mph.
Mini are also offering the Cooper S with a choice of 3 “Rainbow Colour” flip paint options – Sunlight Metallic, Asteroid Metallic and Nightlife Metallic. This isn’t the first time Mini have offered flip paints and previous versions have been incredibly expensive, but this time Mini are claiming the colours will be more affordable – although we won’t know new exactly how much they’ll cost until March.
You can also expect to see a facelift across the Mini range in August, which will also see the PSA-sourced 1.6-litre diesel being dropped in favour of BMW’s own 1.6-litre unit.
Source: theSwitchback, Automobiles Review
