Mini Resurrecting John Cooper Works GP Badge
If you were one of the lucky 444 people that were given the opportunity to own one of the original Mini Cooper John Cooper Works GP Editions, this will either come as exciting, or terrible news: Mini will be recreating that car's two seated, hardcore nature soon, albeit upon the more powerful, faster second generation Mini platform.
Going through the original car from front to back, Mini managed to increase the old car's supercharged output to an astounding 218 horsepower whilst reducing its curb weight by 88 pound through the removal of the air condition system and rear seats. Perched atop the most aggressive suspension Mini could dream up, it was a sort of poor man's BMW M3 CSL.
Taking that same approach to the new, second-generation Mini raises a few questions though. With 208 horsepower already available in the standard Mini Cooper John Cooper Works edition, the undoubtedly more expensive GP edition is expected to breach 220 horsepower, and will probably end up with the 223 horsepower engine found beneath the John Cooper Works Countryman's hood. Likewise, removing the rear seats from a standard Mini in order to convert it to a two-seater makes little sense in a lineup that now includes two two-seat specific models in the Speedster and Roadster. However, given the Speedster comes in a few pounds heavier than the regular Mini, what will actually happen is anyone's guess!
