These Mini JCW Concepts Really Want You To Buy Some Clothes

With the 2025 Munich Motor Show kicking off in a matter of days, the reveals are coming thick and fast. From Mini comes not a new model or even anything previewing one, but a couple of jazzed-up Cooper JCW show cars designed in collaboration with surfish, motorbikish clothing brand Deus Ex Machina, which also sponsored Mini's latest Nürburgring 24 challenger.

There’s one based on each of the two powertrains available for the JCW, so let’s start with the one you’re likely most interested in, which has the 228bhp, 1.6-litre petrol engine. It’s called the Machina, and is said to be motorsport-inspired.

To that end, it gets beefed-up arches and a big spoiler, not unlike what we saw on the last-gen Mini GP, plus a superb rally-style light pod. There’s extra cooling up front and a chunky diffuser around the back, too.

Inside, it’s fully stripped out, with a pair of painful-looking racing seats, a roll cage and a lightweight waxed fabric dash covering. Oh yeah, and a truly massive hydraulic handbrake for initiating equally massive skids. Excellent.

The other concept, based on the 255bhp JCW Electric, draws its inspiration from the world of surfing. Presumably that’s why it’s called the Skeg – a nod, no doubt, to that global surfing capital, Skegness. It also gets some serious arch extensions and a big spoiler, which apparently responds to airflow in the same way a surfboard rides a wave.

The interior, meanwhile, has been overhauled with the beach life in mind. There are specially-designed fibreglass trays for stashing wetsuits in, plus water-repellent neoprene padding on the bucket seats.

Don’t expect either of these to make production in any form – really, they’re just a neat way of getting you to check out some of Deus’ lovely but occasionally wallet-busting clothes. If the current generation of Mini does eventually get a GP version, though, we wouldn’t be too surprised to see it draw some inspiration from this pairing.