MINI Cooper’s have had a legacy since 1959.  They were the response to a failing economy and rising gas prices.  The first Mini Cooper was small, fun, fuel efficient, and pretty quick for its size.  It was one of the first cars to feature a transversely mounted engine, reducing the overall size of the car.  Over the years though, Coopers got bigger, a little slower and lost the flare they once had.  All of a sudden in the early 90’s, the Cooper was a laughing stalk.

 Then, in 2001, the MINI franchise was taken over by none other than BMW.  The next year, a new modern MINI Cooper was released that got back to the roots of the first one: small, fun, fuel efficient, and quick.  And with this new Cooper, spawned it’s big brother, the Cooper S.  The S sported a supercharged engine and a 6-speed manual gearbox.  Supercharging in the Cooper S lasted until 2007 when it was traded for Turbocharging.  In 2011, the Cooper’s 1.6 Liter 4-cylinder gained direct injection, and the Cooper S gained 10 HP bringing it up to 181.  The modern iteration of the MINI Cooper was a perfectly solid car.

 Now however, there is a new Cooper.

 While this new Cooper retains much of the styling legacy of the old one, it is brought into the 21st century with the technology.  The unveiling took place at the LA Auto Show on November 21st, 2013.  As far as right now, I’ve only been able to see specs and descriptions online, and so far, I like what I see.

 There are a few key changes between this Mini and its predecessor, most noticeably, the engine.  Gone is the 1.6 Liter engine.  The new generation brings a whole new batch of engine options, all featuring BMW’s TwinPower Turbo Technology.

 The standard Cooper packs an all new 1.5 L turbo 3-cylinder.  Horsepower is up from the old 121 to the new 134, and torque figures are even better.  The Cooper S has a new 2 Liter turbo 4-cylinder.  Horsepower change is minimal, only up 8 from last generation, but the torque figures are awe inspiring, up 30 ft/lbs from last generation.  That, folks, is enough to rocket the new Cooper S from 0-60 mph 1.1 seconds faster than the old one!

 Also, the interior has been modernized, as well as a few necessary housekeeping items have been addressed.  First of all, the window controls have been moved to their rightful place on the door, and the speedometer is now right in front of the driver, instead of in the middle.  Overall, the interior is much more upscale material-wise and style-wise from the last generation.

 Taking all this into consideration, one question still remains:  Is this the new benchmark for Hot Hatchbacks?  Stay tuned for the answer and an in-depth review of the 2014 MINI Cooper S in Spring of 2014.