Mini Countryman matt paint option priced

The Mini Countryman and Paceman have gained a new matt paint option. Top spec versions of the Mini SUVs will gain the Frozen Black hue in limited numbers.

The versions which gain the option are the 181bhp Cooper S petrol, 141bhp Cooper SD diesel and the range topping John Cooper Works, which in the ALL4 four-wheel-drive Countryman and Paceman, gets a 215bhp 1.6-litre turbo engine which aids a 140mph top speed and sub-7.0sec 0-60 time.

BMW claims a complex manufacturing process for Frozen Black, with model specific front and rear aprons and mirror caps requiring their own separate treatment. The finish is weather and car wash resistant, though the usual advice about avoiding waxes and polishes – which could turn the flat matt finish to gloss – applies.

The matt paint option will cost £1900, with just 38 examples set for UK sale. The premium pushes the Countryman JCW past the £30,000 mark, and makes the Paceman JCW Frozen Black the most expensive Mini on sale at £31,445.