MINI confirms details of engines for new 2014 Cooper and Cooper S

MINI

MINI has confirmed a slew of technical details for the next-generation MINI family, the first of which will be shown later in autumn 2013.

A mix of three- and four-cylinder engines will be available in the new MINI, all sporting the latest tech to keep the brand's fun quotient up and fuel consumption and emissions down.

So turbocharging is common across the range, and petrol engines employ direct fuel injection for precise metering of unleaded. Diesels use common-rail injection, while variable camshaft control is employed to manage intake and exhaust gases.

The new MINI Cooper's 1.5-litre three-cylinder engine has been confirmed at 136hp, while the Cooper S actually has a bigger engine than today's model - a rare sight, when most are downsizing - swelling to a 2.0-litre four-pot rated at 192hp.

Performance should be brisk: maximum torque arrives at just 1250rpm, where 172lb ft is available in the Cooper. The Cooper S has maximum pulling power of 223lb ft, available similarly low down the rev range.

Three-cylinder engines have a reputation for buzzy, zingy soundtracks, but BMW is confident it has given the new 2014 MINI an upmarket character: its construction is mostly aluminium to keep weight down and a countershaft is designed to balance out some of the noise and vibration associated with three-pot engines.

The diesel MINIs should be fun performers, too. The Cooper D has a 116hp 1.5 three-cylinder engine, while a Cooper S D is likely to follow.

MINI

See the new MINI in the metal on 20 November 2013, when it will be unveiled simultaneously at events around the globe in Los Angeles, London and Tokyo.

It's not just innovation under the bonnet. New manual gearboxes have a rev-match function like on Nissan's 370Z, blipping the revs to mimic race-car heel'n'toe gearchanges.

The new 2014 MINI should ride well, too. Electrically adjusted dampers are available for first time - offering drivers two settings: Sport or Comfort.

MINI has stuck with the tried-and-tested suspension set-up of a multi-link rear axle - unusual in this class, and one of the key reasons why this hatchback has historically set the benchmark for sporting compact hatchbacks.

By Tim Pollard, managing editor, MSN Cars