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The 2020 Mini John Cooper Works GP is overwrought and automatic

As we’ve said many, many times before: Nurburgring times are not the measuring stick automakers hold them out to be. They donÂ’t happen under controlled circumstances with independent observers and bone-stock cars, generally. So that makes the new 2020 Mini John Cooper Works GPÂ’s exact time – which BMW officially fudges as “under 8 minutes” and which spy shots peg at 7:56.69 – fairly meaningless. WhatÂ’s not meaningless are the optics. Regardless of whether others cheat, that time isnÂ’t particularly impressive, behind the likes of the Renault Megane R.S. Trophy-R, the Honda Civic Type R, and the Volkswagen GTI Clubsport. LetÂ’s say, hypothetically, that all of those faster ‘Ring runners were Â… ringers. Maybe the Mini isnÂ’t. But strip away this stopwatch discussion and what remains is perhaps even more controversial. The John Cooper Works GP is a busy little thing, be-winged and spackled with GP decals and red accents and unusual overfenders. And itÂ’s an automatic – no manual here. Certainly all this will excite some, but itÂ’s bound to create some controversy for its sheer audaciousness. LetÂ’s start with the styling. Deep, bright red accents abound, looking almost like enamel. The trim is otherwise darkened, even the badging. That large split wing above the rear hatch has a distinct sci-fi vibe, like it was ripped off the concept art for a 2042 fusion-powered race car. Whether it meshes with the loosely-defined retro vibe of the underlying Mini Cooper is up to you. The most striking exterior element is the overfender treatment. TheyÂ’re a combination of a plastic understructure and a chopped carbon fiber material cap with a hexagonal seam motif. In pictures, it looks a bit like fiberboard – probably not the look Mini was going for. The panels stand proud of the fenders, too, especially at the top seam. If weÂ’re being generous, they look quite bold. But it seems that this element will live or die on how it appears in the flesh, so weÂ’ll wait until then to analyze it more. The styling is going to create some polarization, and so too will the mechanical spec and performance numbers. The turbo inline-four makes 301 horsepower – respectable, sure, but not outlandish. The 0-60 time is off the pace compared to the superlative Civic Type R, which clocks a 4.7-second run according to Car and Driver (Honda is mum on 0-60 times, by the way). The GP? 5.0 seconds. Good, but not the best – just like its claimed ‘Ring time.

BMW restores classic Mini as it revives production in Netherlands

Mini will be kicking off production in the Netherlands, a country that hasn't built a Mini-badged machine since 1966. In honor of this event, BMW Group Classic, the team responsible for all the cars in the BMW Museum, as well as being a spare parts and restoration company in its own right, revived a classic 1959 Austin Seven. That particular car, number 983, was one of the first Minis to be built in the Netherlands.
The Netherlands' JJ Molenaar's Car Companies built 4,000 Austin Sevens and Morris Mini-Minors between 1959 and 1966, although we imagine Dutch Mini production will be much bigger when it starts up again in summer 2014. A five-person team from VDL Nedcar, the group handling production of new Minis, took to the job of restoring the diminutive British car from nose to tail.
The 34-horsepower engine and the transmission were both completely rebuilt, while the door panels were redone by hand. Help from the Mini community aided the VDL Nedcar team in finding authentic replicas or original parts where possible. All told, the new classic Mini is a striking example of what a good restoration can do to a car. The Seven was repainted in its original Farina Gray, adding to the car's sense of authenticity.

Mini marks International Women's Day with Pat Moss Edition

Mini is celebrating International Women's Day with a new Pat Moss Edition package for the 2023 Mini Cooper. Moss was the first driver to win an international rally behind the wheel of a car wearing the Mini badge when she took first place in the Tulip Rally — from Noordwijk in the Netherlands to the French Riviera and back again — in 1962.  "This special edition not only commemorates the launch of MINIÂ’s extraordinary sporting career, but it also marks a pioneering achievement for women in motorsports," Mini said in its announcement. "Success in the Netherlands turned the classic Mini, Pat Moss and her co-driver Ann Wisdom into enduring heroines in a discipline otherwise dominated by both significantly larger vehicles, and male driving teams." Moss was the sister of Stirling Moss; she died in 2008. This appearance package includes Pat Moss signature decals on the front bumper (where Moss originally signed the car after one of its rally victories) and dash, stylized tulips integrated into the side markers, sill plates, steering wheel and wheel center caps, a fender decal detailing the Tulip Rally course and a decal on the hood commemorating the original rally victor's registration number.  To the left of the wheel, there's another decal on the dash which might at first appear to be a stylized picket fence, but it's actually meant to look like pistons moving up and down, arranged to look like the letters "M" and "W" for "Moss" and "Wisdom."  Globally, Mini will offer the Pat Moss Edition on the Cooper S Hardtop 2-door, a Cooper S Hardtop 4-door, and a John Cooper Works Hardtop, but only the JCW will be an option for U.S. customers. Pricing will be available closer to launch, we're told, but the Pat Moss edition is limited to just 800 units worldwide and given that it's based on the JCW's existing Iconic trim, which starts at about $40,000, it won't be cheap.  Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.