2015 MINI Roadster S JCW

YEAR: 2015
MODEL: MINI Roadster S JCW  (R59)
VIN#: T432775
ENGINE: 1.6L Inline Four-Cylinder
CURB WEIGHT: 2,635 LBS.
TOP SPEED: 149 MPH
PRICE WHEN NEW: $36,250
NUMBER BUILT: Unknown
BUILD DATE: April 26, 2015
COLOR: Charcoal
(Originally Eclipse Gray Metallic)
OWNERS: Jeff Goodman
(Since January 15, 2017)
LOCATION: Greenville, South Carolina
NICKNAME: Spitfire

In 2011, MINI launched the MINI Roadster. It is the sixth different model in the current line-up, and it was the first open-top two-seater in its history. 

From Jeff: “My first MINI was a 2011 hardtop that I bought new and knew I would be driving MINIs from then on. I test drove a friend’s roadster in 2016, when my hardtop was approaching 100k miles, and knew that would be my next MINI. It just drove ‘tighter’.  I found my roadster at a Tampa dealership in 2017; two years old with 19k miles on it and a JCW to boot.” 

A year later, I designed the Spitfire motif vinyl wrap that adorns the MINI. MINI has a British heritage, so I wanted to pay homage to one of the fastest and most legendary fighters that the RAF flew in WWII. I used the same font styles for the alpha-numeric on the side, and the roundel is accurate.  The camo pattern strongly mimics those used on actual RAF Spitfires. The biggest challenge was what to do with the boot? Aircraft taper to a point, while my roadster has a squared-off tail. My solution was the “Black Jack” version of the British Flag, and merged that to the edges.” 

‘Come Fly With Me’ hood graphics is a reference to the Sinatra song that ties the theme together, as when being driven, Spitfire flies.

The two signatures on the right rear are noteworthy. Alice Cooper signed the MINI in April 2018 when he was in Greenville for a concert. The other signature is Charlie Cooper, John Cooper’s grandson. Spitfire (likely because of the themed wrap) is always a conversation starter.