Red-hot Mini John Cooper Works goes topless

Roof can be opened and closed at up to 30 km/h

Cabriolet joins the conventional three-door hatch in being updated

Having detailed the updated John Cooper Works (JCW) earlier this month, Mini has now unveiled the cabriolet version of its hottest model due to go on sale within the coming months.

Sporting the same visual upgrades as the three-door, the drop-top JCW’s biggest distinguishing feature is of course the roof that can be opened and closed in 18 seconds at speeds up to 30 km/h.

rear view

Like the regular cabriolet, the JCW is available in a soft-top model only colour called Zesty Yellow with two other hues also offered; Rooftop Grey Metallic and Island Blue Metallic.

Riding on standard 17-inch or optional 18-inch alloy wheels, the cabriolet sits 10 mm closer to the ground than the conventional Mini and like the JCW hatch, features the same interior upgrades and tech, as well as the model specific Adaptive suspension from the options list.

Equipped with the upgraded Brembo brakes utilising a four-piston caliper setup at the front and single at the rear, the JCW Cabriolet is motivated by the same 2.0-litre turbocharged engine as the hatch that fires 170kW/320Nm at the front wheels.

Interior sports the same upgrades that debuted on the standard model in January this year

Paired to the standard six-speed manual gearbox, the cabriolet will get from 0-100 km/h in 6.6 seconds, 0.3 seconds down on the hatch, with the selection of the eight-speed Steptronic ‘box bringing the benchmark sprint time down to 6.5 seconds, four tenths down on the hard-top. Regardless of the transmission, top speed is limited to 250 km/h.

As indicated, the JCW Cabriolet will go on sale within the coming months in Europe, but is unlikely to be offered in South Africa given the absence of the current pre-facelift model.