The MINI JCW GP has some great claims to its name. Ever since it was launched, it was touted as the fastest, most powerful car the British car maker has ever put into production. That’s not necessarily an impossible feat to achieve, to be frank, because the MINI brand never focused that much on power to begin with. These cars were meant to be cheap first and foremost, and easy to live with during times of distress.
Luckily, the world has changed a lot over the last 60 years and things changed. MINI is still not exactly a brand known for breaking land speed records but it has been making rather fast cars over the last 20 years, especially since BMW took over. With the JCW GP model it writes a new page in its own history books, this being the first hatch they ever made with over 300 HP and, in turn, the fastest car they ever sold.
The guys from Motorsport Magazine, over in France, decided to put it to the test and check out just how fast the GP model is in a straight line. Therefore, armed with a tank of gas and an empty runway, they went for it. The results look like this: 0-100 km/h took 5.2 seconds, reaching 200 km/h took 16.3 seconds and the car accelerated to a top speed (indicated) of 242 km/h. And it only took about 30 seconds to do that.
Now, the MINI JCW GP doesn’t have an easy life, as some might be led to believe. There are plenty of challengers around to steal some if its shine. The latest and most adored right now is the Toyota Yaris GR, a car that seems to be the actual embodiment of fun on a budget and in a compact package. We didn’t get to test it out yet but we’ll report back if we do and share some thoughts on how the two compare.
