Over the past couple of months, we’ve seen some spy photos and videos of the upcoming MINI John Cooper Works GP, the brand’s latest hardcore performance machine. While it’s yet to be officially revealed, the public will get a glimpse of the latest hardcore MINI this weekend, at the 24 Hours Nurburgring.
MINI engineers have been testing the JCW GP at the ‘Ring for some time, now. Spy photos and videos of the camouflaged GP have been trickling out and we’ve been able to catch some of its style and performance. Much like the Concept that teased its arrival, the MINI John Cooper Works GP is going to be one wild car. In fact, it looks more like its concept than we’ve seen from a production car in a long time.
Being a JCW GP, it will be lighter, stiffer and more agile than any other MINI on the road. Its suspension, chassis, steering and brakes have all be tweaked, updated and upgraded to make it a proper little track machine. It also gets a ton of aero, such as its funky fender flares and massive rear wing. So it will both look awesome and go like hell. It’s also faster. Its 2.0 liter turbocharged four-cylinder makes 300 hp, making it one of the very most powerful MINIs to date.
It’s said that the MINI John Cooper Works GP has had its chassis and handling fine-tuned with lessons learned from the MINI JCP racing team. So it’s not just some aero and added horsepower. There’s some real engineering going on here to make the GP as fast and as fun around track as possible. To prove that, the new MINI John Cooper Works GP obliterated the old GP around the Nurburgring during official testing. The previous GP lapped the ‘Ring in 8:23 minutes. This new car lapped it in under eight minutes. And testing isn’t even finished yet.
If you’re going to be at or around the Nurburgring this weekend, try and catch a glimpse of the MINI John Cooper Works GP. It’s still going to be wearing its camo but it’s also still worth a look.
