Mini’s Hot Secret!
MINI JCW GP
There is one other Mini that might have flown in under your radar. It is the wildest Mini hot hatch yet, and it’s called the Mini John Cooper Works GP. The car looks really cool and boasts the highest price tag of any Mini yet – but for good reason.
It was built as a JCW GP 60th year birthday present for Mini, and it sits low down on a 40 mm wider track. The massive grille, bold GP badge, massive front spoiler and two large air foiling scoops just give the car a special presence that is brutal and focused. The air intake slot in the bonnet is large and ready to suck in gallons of air to help spool the turbo.
Look at the Mini JCW GP hot-hatch side on, and the chunky styling looks awesome, mean and racy. It features huge wheel arches, massive side skirts and an enormous spoiler. The car is also lower than standard JCW cars.
Head around the back, and you note that the spoiler has also been skilfully incorporated into the roof guttering showing a nice level of attention to detail. The taillights have been darkened and the twin exhaust outlets poke aggressively out from the centre of the rear skirt. These crackle and pop with full throttle and under serious braking. What a car!
Inside, the racy Mini JCW GP is fairly simple. It boasts nice leather bucket seats, a digital dash, 3-D printed panels with an array of options for logos and displays. A special ‘GP pack’ adds all the comfort and bells and whistles like heated seats and dual zone climate control, but remember this is a stripped out limited edition racer that comes standard with just the two seats. A horizontal strut brace takes up where the rear seats would normally sit.
So just 3000 units will be made worldwide, and 65 of those will make the journey to Australia – and they have almost certainly already been sold to their lucky owners. They are around $12,500 more expensive than a ‘regular’ John Cooper Works, so I’d imagine if you did own one and tried to sell it now, you could fetch even more than the original price.
The Mini JCW GP is significantly more expensive than more generously equipped hot hatch rivals such as the Volkswagen Golf R ($56,990); but who cares – the car is a phenomenal performer and it is a limited edition. The new John Cooper Works GP is driven by a special version of BMW’s 2.0-litre turbo engine with an output of 225 kW of power and 450 Nm of torque available. Just the eight-speed automatic with paddle shifters is available, however this set-up ensures that the power is delivered precisely on time – every time. Mini has developed a unique suspension for the GP, designed to make it even faster around a racetrack than the standard JCW Hatch. Mini claims the FWD JCW GP hot-hatch will do the 0-100 km/h dash in just 5.2 seconds. This is just the start of the rush of power and acceleration that goes on to a governed top speed of 265 km/h. This is very quick indeed! The FWD power is controlled with a limited slip-diff.
You’ll want to keep your ear to the ground and see if you can find a seller of the wonderful little Mini JCW GP ‘hottie’. It’s distinctively different and extremely aggressive, and you’re in for a thrilling and wild ride.
Mini’s Hottest Hatch
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