It's been over ten years since MINI came out with the first John Cooper Works GP. It was a tiny legend that only made it to 2,000 owners, and now the Brits are looking to repeat the stunt with a third generation. But we're not absolutely sure that the John Cooper Works GP concept coming to Frankfurt should be considered a preview.
It looks like one of those crazy machines that have little to do with reality. To give you a few examples, there's the twin-engined Renault Zoe, the rear-engined V6 concept that was supposed to preview the Twingo and the Peugeot 308 R HYbrid with 500 HP. Yeah, the French make a lot of crazy stuff.
In the case of the JCW GP concept, it seems to have the fenders of a DTM race car, a racing fuel filler system, a roof scoop and entirely stripped out interior. What is this, the MINI Regera?
However, we can't deny that MINI would need something this crazy to get noticed in the hot hatch universe. As hardcore as it is, the normal JCW only packs 231 HP and 320 Nm (236 lb-ft) of torque. Back when the original GP came out, there was no turbocharged Civic Type R or A45 AMG.
“The Mini John Cooper Works GP concept is all about the unfettered feeling of driving and levels of performance found in motor sports competition,” said Peter Schwartzenbauer, BMW board member in charge of Mini. “This is driving fun in its purest form.”
That means significantly wider tracks, a large front spoiler, lowered suspension, racing rubber and many lightweight bits made from carbon fiber. The interior is just as focused, with a roll cage, the obvious rear bench deletes and bucket seats with 5-point harnesses.
While MINI has in no way committed to putting the concept into production, it's rare for any BMW brand to show anything it can't eventually sell. They could just go "yeah, we want to make the JCW GP too, but some of this cool stuff will need to be stripped off."
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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