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2020 Mini John Cooper Works GP appears to have its Nurburgring time on the dashboard

Details on the 2020 Mini John Cooper Works GP hot hatch have been trickling out, and it sounds and looks impressive. It will have over 300 horsepower (probably at least 301 like the Clubman and Countryman), and it has wild bodywork like its concept. Mini has also been promising a fast Nurburgring lap time, with the only information given that it will be under 8 minutes. Before the company could announce it, someone found it on the dashboard of the car. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Twitter user Will Pierce shared a photo of the dash, and the time wasn't just on a piece of paper, it was molded into the plastic trim of the dashboard. Mini is really proud of it, but maybe they shouldn't be that proud because it's not a record, giving it the benefit of the doubt that it's front drive like past GPs. The time is 7:56.69. The current front-drive record holder is the Renault Megane R.S. Trophy-R at 7:40.1. That's over 16 seconds faster. It also edged out the Honda Civic Type R's old record of 7:43.8. Even the third-fastest front-driver, the VW GTI Clubsport, did a lap in 7:47.19. In the grand scheme of things, Nurburgring lap times aren't that important. They're a fun bragging right, but there's much more that's important about cars than raw times. We're just giving the Mini a hard time because, well, if you're going to throw a time in someone's face every time they hop in the car, maybe you should make sure it's truly impressive. But we're sure the GP will be a riot, and we can't wait for more details and the opportunity to drive one.

2020 Mini John Cooper Works GP laps the 'Ring in under 8 minutes

Mini used the occasion of the Nurburgring 24 Hours race to show off a preproduction version of its upcoming John Cooper Works GP. That's fitting, because the GP — the hottest of Mini's hot hatch offerings — has been honed specifically to conquer the Nordschleife of the famous German track. In fact, Mini says it has already lapped the North Loop in under eight minutes. An official lap time will come later because testing is apparently still underway. But to put that time into perspective, the last version of the JCW GP lapped the 'Ring in 8:23, so the new version could be half a minute faster. That's impressive, even if track performance isn't always the ideal measuring stick for street cars like the GP. We know that the GP will have more than 300 horsepower, but exact power figures have yet to be released. As you can see in the image gallery above, it will have some crazy aerodynamic additions, but probably won't wear a Nurburgring-inspired camouflage wrap when it goes into production in 2020 with a limited run of 3,000 units. And now we know that it will be much faster round the 'Ring than the previous GP — but will it be faster than the lap time of 7 minutes and 43.8 seconds recorded by the Honda Civic Type R? We'll see, but we wouldn't be surprised.

2020 Mini Cooper S E electric car's reveal date announced

Although we've pretty much seen the production 2020 Mini Cooper S E electric hatchback, we've been in the dark about when the car, and more importantly its specifications, will officially be revealed. But now the company says we'll see it on July 9, just a few weeks away. As you can see above, the car pulls many design cues from the Frankfurt concept such as the mostly filled-in grille with a yellow-green stripe and the nifty four-spoke wheels. Of course it's also clearly and closely based on the regular Mini Hardtop, and it even features the Mini Cooper S hood scoop. That's another indication that Mini intends for it to be comparable to a sporty gas-powered model. We're most anxious for confirmation on performance specifications. In our prototype drive, we learned that the motor is based on the one from the BMW i3S, so it should make about 181 horsepower, just 8 shy of the gas-powered Mini Cooper S. But the range estimate given during the prototype drive was a rather low 120 miles. That's actually a little less than the 150 miles of the prototype Mini E from about a decade ago. More finalized numbers should be available after the official reveal.