What is John Cooper Works?

John Cooper Works or JCW is MINI's performance model, named after the famous race car driver and tuner of the 1950's and 1960's. John Cooper and his son Michael assisted BMW in releasing the suped-up version to the public in the 1990's. Cooper created the John Cooper Works company in 2000 and died shortly after. His son Michael managed the company until 2007 when the BMW Group bought JCW as a MINI subbrand.

John Cooper made the first MINI Cooper in 1961, after driving a MINI and "falling in love with it's racing potential." It imidiately made a splash on the racing circuit. The Cooper's version of the MINI Cooper S won the Monte Carlo racing circuit three times from 1964-1969.

The name Cooper was not attached to the MINI consumer vehicles until BMW of Germany acquired the MINI brand and began marketing them as premium small cars in 2000. The John Cooper Works variation was introduced on a limited scale during the 2006 model year. You can watch Australians break down the difference between the Cooper and the JCW here.

Information from www.miniusa.com.