South Africa hosted last week the launch of the new 2015 MINI John Cooper Works. Sporting the British Racing Green paint job matched with red-painted roof, side mirrors and stripes on the hood, the high-performance MINI showcases its sporty attributes in this photoshoot.

The new MINI John Cooper Works is powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder (B48) driving the front wheels. The 231 hp help the JCW achieve a spring to 62 mph in just 6.1 seconds – the manually shifted version requires only two tenths of a second longer. This is an increase in sprint capability of 0.3 seconds or 5 percent as compared to the previous generation John Cooper Works Hardtop. Elasticity has even been improved by 10 percent. With a figure of 5.6 seconds for acceleration from 50 to 75 mph, MINI JCW is one of the fastest cars in its class.

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Top speed for the MINI indicates 246 km / h for both variants.

The specially tuned sport chassis features a single-joint spring strut axle at the front and multi-link rear suspension, and a Brembo brake system. All of these delimit the MINI John Cooper Works F56 from the weaker MINI F56 models, and of course the competition.

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MINI’s new JCW goes on sale now in the U.S.