S is for stunning

JUST imagine taking the wheel of the new MINI Cooper S and before an audience of fellow motoring hacks hurtling into a series of handbrake turns, front-end throws, full-throttle 360-spins in a cloud of tyre smoke, and then steering down the hotel driveway on the two offside wheels with yourself and three other people on board. In my dreams.

It was done, but not by me. It was a guy called Russ Swift, a Darlington autotest driver who makes a living out of being a law-abiding hooligan, making Minis spin and pirouette at breakneck speeds before an audience, but unlike a hooligan returns the car unscathed.

His most spectacular trick at the Press launch saw him buzzing along parallel with a couple of other £14,500 MINI Cooper S positioned one behind the other, no more than about two and a half car lengths apart, and spinning round through 180 degrees, so that he parks in one tyre-squealing sweep in the space between them.

In other words, he does not just spin backwards; he edges in slightly more than a MINI-width sideways at the same time.

Then he has the other cars brought closer together and repeats the hair-raising movement into such a confined space that one of them has to be moved to let him out again.

What MINI is saying is that the Cooper S is indeed fun, fast and manoeuvrable, although I have to confess that out on the open road I drove with less breathtaking enthusiasm as demonstrated by Russ Swift who, incidentally, may be remembered driving a Rover Maestro on two wheels in a famous television advertisement.

MINI Cooper S arrives just 11 months and 26,000 sales after MINI One and the standard Cooper hit the streets. It features a state-of-the art supercharger and intercooler technology which pushes the standard 1.6-litre engine to an impressive 163bhp. A stiffer suspension, uprated big brakes and a six-speed gearbox guarantee an exhilarating driving experience.

To meet this guarantee, the Cooper S was launched in Scotland, and a more perfect launch pad would be hard to find.

Based near Aberdeen, the test routes headed for the hills, taking in among other roads the climb to the ski slopes on the Lecht, and on to Tomintoul, the highest village in the Highlands.

Here there were tremendous climbs, blind brows, rocketing downhill stretches and, in Strathdon, miles of sweeping bends with the river on one side and woodlands on the other, some cuttable corners and others blind.

What the route clearly identified was that the Cooper S is a nicely balanced car, taking the bends with infinite ease at whatever speed you felt capable of flooring. And that is another thing, when you floor the throttle, there is the specially tuned supercharger, not a turbo, whine - wonderful, as the power flows in, just enough to make it obvious boost is being applied.

The S carries with it a sportier suspension than on the standard Cooper, 16-inch alloy wheels, traction control, comfortable and firm sports front seats, and leather-rimmed steering wheel, all included in the upgrades on the Cooper S specification, which comes at a standard price of £14,500.

The new beefed-up Cooper S joins the MINI squad tomorrow, as the first of more than 4,000 pre-ordered cars join the dealerships.

It is easily recognisable by the air intake on the bonnet which channels cool air over the supercharger, the roof spoiler and the centrally mounted twin chrome exhaust pipes.

Inside the three-door four-seater, great attention has been given to the dashboard, providing a large central speedometer (a proud throwback to the car's heritage) which also houses fuel and coolant gauges and tyre pressure indicator. The rev counter sits in front of the driver, on the steering column. There are also toggle switches operating heating, windows and front and back foglamps, and the central dash houses all the controls for the audio system, heated rear window and so on.

Cooper S also arrives with a great line-up of factory-fit options and accessories, including roof flag decals of the Union Jack or St George's Cross (or the Scottish and Welsh equivalent if preferred).

The test cars were fitted out with all manner of extras, but the customer record, so far, is said to take the price closer to £22,000, achieved by a Scarborough customer.

The Cooper S basic equipment includes ABS anti-lock brakes, electronic braking distribution, cornering brake control, run flat tyres with pressure indicator, disc brakes all round, front and side driver and passenger airbags, power-assisted steering, and rake adjustable steering wheel, electric front windows and powered wing mirrors.

For security it comes with a remote alarm system, which locks doors, boot and the chrome fuel cap.

A mouth-watering list of optional equipment tots up to around £7,885, and includes satellite navigation, park distance control, six CD player, as well as the Chili pack which at £1,350 includes air-conditioning, Xenon headlights with washers, 17-inch S-spoke light-alloy wheels, floor mats, front seat rear pockets, halogen fog lights, interior lights package, height adjustable passenger seat and cloth/leather upholstery. Buying the pack saves nearly £700 over purchasing the items individually.

For those who might worry about such things, the Cooper S returns 33.6mpg at the combined rate, and its Co2 emissions are 202g/km.

Finally, Trevor Houghton-Berry, the UK general manager for MINI, says: "MINI Cooper S is the icing on the cake for us." Absolutely right.

Details at a glance:

Model: MINI Cooper S

Price: £14,500 on the road

Dimensions: Length 3655mm, width (including mirrors) 1925mm, height 1416mm, wheelbase 2647mm.

Engine: 1.6-litre, in line, four cylinders, four valves per cylinder. Maximum output 163Ps at 6000rpm; maximum torque 210Nm at 4000rpm.

Transmission: Six-speed manual.

Performance: 0-62mph 7.4-seconds; top speed 135mph

Economy: Urban 24.8mpg, extra urban 41.5mpg, combined 33.6mpg.

Emission Co2: 202g/km

Updated: 12:38 Friday, June 07, 2002