These custom Mini JCW hot hatches are all kinds of awesome

Earlier this year, Mini collaborated with apparel and lifestyle brand Deus Ex Machina to design a special livery for the Nürburgring 24 Hour race. A couple of months on, and the two have been at the paint palettes (and spanners) again to create this pair of modified hot hatches for the Munich Motor Show.

What you’re looking at are a Mini John Cooper Works Electric and its combustion-powered sibling, but these aren't exactly standard, off-the-shelf cars.

First up is the ‘The Skeg’ – the yellow and silver one – which uses a JCW Electric as its base. We’re told it’s inspired by the surfing world, and you’ll have noticed the surfboard-styled rear spoiler (or ‘Flex Tip Surf Spoiler’ to give it its full name) plus the straps for tying down any boards on the roof. We’re more taken by those glorious wheelarches. Not sure how practical they’ll be on narrow Cornish coastal roads, mind.

It also gets an illuminated front grille, surely inspired by its BMW siblings, while custom fibreglass panels strip 15 per cent of the car’s weight.

The interior, too, is an operation in weight-saving, from the fibreglass dashboard, to the lightweight buckets, to the door pulls. The rear seats have also been lobbed in the skip, replaced by fibreglass trays for sodden wetsuits. Practical too, see.

Second up is ‘The Machine’ – the red, white and black one, in case you hadn’t figured – inspired by the world of motorsport, most noticeably featuring those glorious spotlights, a nod to Mini’s rallying heritage, and again some aggressive-looking wheelarches.

Elsewhere there’s a bespoke grille and perforated headlights to enhance cooling, while round the back there’s a Can-Am-style rear spoiler, plus a diffuser inspired by the JCW Nürburgring racecar complete with centrally mounted exhaust. Looks proper, wouldn’t you agree?

Inside is similarly pared back, from the waxed fabric dash to the five-point harnesses, aluminium floor plates, hydraulic handbrake and exposed roll cage, all of which point to a bona fide racer.

Oh, and the bird’s eye view also reveals a large white ‘X’ on the roof of both, signalling the Mini JCW x Deus co-creation. Should absolutely, definitely not be taken as a target…

Both cars will be on display at the Munich Motor Show (otherwise known as IAA Mobility) from 8 September.