MINI John Cooper Works and MINI John Cooper Works Clubman to arrive in Canada in summer 2008.

Whitby. For more than four decades now, the name John Cooper has been synonymous with the high-performance members of the MINI family. In January 2008, MINI and John Cooper Works announced they would transition from being two separate entities to merging the John Cooper Works into the MINI family as a MINI sub brand. The first high-performance MINI models that will be launched under this new MINI John Cooper Works brand will be the MINI John Cooper Works and MINI John Cooper Works Clubman, arriving in Canada this summer.

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[from MINI Press, Canada]

Whitby. The second generation MINI Cooper hatchback earned impressive scores for front and side impact and roll-over testing in the latest National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) testing.

In the NCAP side impact testing, the 2008 MINI Cooper received a 5-Star rating for front seat occupant side-impact protection – the highest rating issued by NHTSA. In the same test the MINI Cooper received a 4-Star rating for rear seat occupants.

In frontal impact testing the MINI Cooper received a 4-Star rating for both front seat occupants. In addition the MINI Cooper carries a 5-Star rating for rollover safety.

The MINI Cooper and Cooper S, of course, share the same body structure and passive safety features and optimize occupant safety with a total of six airbags – two frontal impact bags, two seat-mounted side impact bags and a Head Protection air bag curtain that protects both front and rear passengers in the event of a side impact or roll-over. MINI’s crash worthiness is also enhanced by a rigid steel safety cage that helps to redirect impact forces away from occupants.

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