In June 2006 Mini published a press release for their most powerful production Mini to date. Known officially as the “Mini Cooper S with John Cooper Works GP Kit”, the GP was Mini’s first attempt to introduce as much tech and know-how from its Mini Challenge Clubsport Race Series into a road car.
Fast forward to 2013 and following on from the success of the first generation car, Mini wanted to roll out another offering based on the R56 Mini Cooper S.
Making use of the new turbo powered 1.6 litre 4 cylinder engine, the GP2 benefitted from a host of performance upgrades over the standard car included larger turbo and improved internals allowing for power output to increase to 218bhp. Of more significance was the fitment of 6-pot Brembo front brakes along with specifically developed Bilstein coilover suspension and a host of carbon fibre aero enhancements.
The net result was a car that lapped the Nurburgring 19 seconds faster than its predecessor. 2000 units were built globally with just 288 cars being supplied to the UK.
An extremely engaging hot hatch which would make a brilliant weekend toy or fantastic addition to any modern classic collection.
First registered in September 2013, this stunning UK supplied Mini Cooper S John Cooper Works GP2 is car number 1763 and has covered just 14,200 miles from new with full BMW/MINI service history. Wearing the iconic shade of GP Thunder Grey with Red and Black accents, the car remains in mechanically original condition with all documentation and tooling for the suspension included.
The last owner has installed a very subtle audio enhancement to the car at the cost of just under £2k. This makes use of the existing MINI audio system but provides superior sound quality and Bluetooth capability.