Avatar photo

By Charl Bosch

Motoring Journalist


Mini slips details of hardcore John Cooper Works GP

Mini has provided a glimpse of what to expect from its hardcore new John Cooper Works (JCW) GP when it debuted the prototype this past weekend as the curtain raiser for the Nürburgring 24 Hours.


Touted as being the most powerful Mini ever made since the brand’s takeover by BMW almost two decades ago, the still partially camouflaged prototype seemingly conforms to previous reports that it will incorporate elements from the extreme JCW GP concept shown in Frankfurt two years ago.

This includes the prominent rear wing as part of the upgraded aerodynamics and, as per the images, a wider front apron with a redesigned lower air dam, vents integrated into the wheel arches to aid cooling of the upgraded brakes, centrally positioned dual exhaust outlets and lightweight black alloy wheels with stickier rubber. Like the previous JCW GP that ended production five years ago, the newcomer will seemingly be offered as a three-door only variant once again.

No further details were released with Mini merely stating that the GP will have a limited production of 3 000 units, have the ability to round the famous Green Hell in eight minutes 23 sec and come powered by a TwinPower four-cylinder turbocharged engine capable of producing “more than 220 kW”.

More likely the same 2.0-litre motor powering the regular Cooper S and JCW , expect said output to in fact eclipse the latter’s 224 kW and significantly lower the 6.3 second sprint time from 0-100 km/h.

Expect more details are set to emerge in the coming month leading up to the JCW GP officially going on sale next year.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.

Read more on these topics

Mini Cooper Motoring News

For more news your way

Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.