Over the last few days, we’ve done an inventory of BMW Group UK’s historic fleet consisting of 16 cars, most of which are special BMWs such as an M5 30 Jahre (F10). However, there are also a couple of MINIs, the John Cooper Works GP1 we talked about earlier this week and this – its spiritual successor. The GP2 came out six years later, in 2012, and it too was a hardcore two-seater.
The fastest MINI ever at the time of its release, the hot hatchback was capped at just 2,000 units to echo the 2006 GP1 before it. The Oxford-based marque did away with the supercharged 1.6-liter gasoline engine in favor of a turbocharged mill that had 218 hp and 192 lb-ft (260 Nm) of torque. It matched its predecessor’s horsepower but had slightly more torque, routed to the front wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox.
MINI gave the John Cooper Works GP2 an overboost function that temporarily increased torque to 207 lb-ft (280 Nm). It helped the feisty hatch reach 62 mph (100 km/h) from a standstill in just 6.3 seconds while the 50 to 75 mph (80 to 120 km/h) sprint took 5.9 seconds in fifth gear. Flat out, the pocket rocket did 150 mph (242 km/h).
As with all the other cars made, the one owned by MINI UK is painted in Thunder Grey with contrasting red accents and GP-branded side stripes. The GP2 stood out furthermore thanks to its exclusive 17-inch wheels adapted from the MINI Challenge race car. Like its predecessor, it did away with the rear seats to lower the curb weight and received upgraded brakes with bigger 330-mm front discs. A coilover suspension and an aero body kit rounded off the list with tweaks.
It wasn’t until late 2019 that MINI revisited the Grand Prix (GP) formula with the GP3. Hopefully, there’s still time left for a GP4 with a combustion engine prior to 2030 when the brand pledges to go purely electric.
Source: BMW UK
