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2020 Mini John Cooper Works GP is priced from $45,750

Mini hasn’t even given us all the details for the upcoming John Cooper Works GP, but it already has a price. Set to debut at this month's L.A. Auto Show, the GP will start at $45,750. The last GP-badged Mini sold for $39,950, so this mid-$40,000 price point isnÂ’t out of the ordinary or unexpected. However, itÂ’s still pretty nuts considering the competition. Mini previously told us the GP will have “over 300 horsepower” and go around the Nurburgring in less than 8 minutes. Global production is also limited to 3,000 total cars, but itÂ’s not clear how many of those will be coming stateside.  Mini John Cooper Works GP View 30 Photos A regular 2020 John Cooper Works Hardtop starts at $34,250, but itÂ’s making do with considerably less horsepower at 231 ponies. A Civic Type R retails for $37,230. A Golf R is $41,290 and the WRX STI costs $37,895. WeÂ’ll note that Mini hasnÂ’t said how much standard equipment is included with the $45,750 asking price, so it could get much more expensive from there — Mini will surely let you go nuts with the configurator. That said, we can hope the high asking price does include an array of niceties you'd have to pay for on higher trims of the JCW Hardtop. When it launches later this November, Mini has already promised it will be the fastest car itÂ’s ever produced. WeÂ’re excited to see the extreme Mini take to the streets in mid-2020, as the GP models in the past have always provided us with a gloriously fun driving experience.

Paul McCartney's Aston sells for $1.8M; Ringo Starr's old Mini goes to a Spice Girl

The Bonhams Bond Street auction in London was the place to be for fans of both The Beatles and automobiles as two cars once owned by former members of the band were up for auction. The first was an Aston Martin DB5 owned by Paul McCartney, and the second was a Mini Cooper owned by Ringo Starr. Both went for substantial sums, and the Mini went to an interesting owner. The Aston brought the big bucks, or pounds, since it was a British auction. The final price with premium was barely over $1.8 million, which fell smack in the middle of Bonham's estimate. It's an impressive price on its own, but more so when compared with its sale back in 2012. Back then it was painted in the same blue it had originally, and it only sold for $495,000, making this new sale more than three times higher. View 22 Photos The Mini went for much less, at just under $137,000 with premium. But the car went to an interesting owner, Geri Horner, nee Hollowell, whom you may know better as Ginger Spice of the Spice Girls. The Mini itself is interesting, too. Each of The Beatles owned a classic Mini at some point, but Ringo Starr's was unique because the flip-down tailgate was converted to a modern-style lift-up hatch incorporating the rear window. Reportedly the reason was so Starr could easily fit his drum kit in the back. It also featured a custom grille, driving lights, hood vents, and soft sunroof among other things. It even appeared on " Top Gear" in 2001. And before we forget, McCartney's DB5 also has " Top Gear" history in that it was owned by former host, Chris Evans. Related Video: Featured Gallery 1964 Aston Martin DB5 owned by Paul McCartney View 13 Photos Image Credit: Bonhams Celebrities Aston Martin MINI Auctions Coupe Hatchback Classics aston martin db5 the beatles

Mini Cooper Convertible Interior Review | Dissecting the oddball

Stepping inside any Mini product is going to throw you for a minute if you haven’t been in one before. ItÂ’s a combination of the odd proportions, weird sightlines and exceedingly quirky design for just about everything inside the cabin. This strangeness, of course, applies to the 2022 Mini Cooper Convertible, which is the subject of this review. Arguably, the Convertible is even weirder than the regular Hardtop, both of which were updated for 2022. It features a tailgate as a rear loading mechanism and a soft top that folds like an accordion on top of said tailgate, remaining out in the open and visible no matter its position — thereÂ’s simply no room for Mini to stow it out of sight in a trunk cubby hole. That gives the Mini Convertible an odd look with the top down, and due to the top having to rest on top of the tailgate, it also blocks the driverÂ’s view rearward. You can still see super-tall trucks in the rearview mirror, but putting the top down makes you largely reliant on the side mirrors to see whatÂ’s coming up behind you. To mitigate that, thereÂ’s a middle ground of top deployment that simply rolls the top part of the way back, effectively creating a roof-width sunroof. Those are all rather odd quirks, but our favorite convertible Mini quirk of old is nowhere to be found in the latest car: the Openometer. This little feature was a gauge that simply kept track of how long you spent driving around with the top down. ItÂ’s hard to think of a feature that is any more “Mini” than that one, which makes us all the more sad that the gauge no longer exists to shame those who donÂ’t drop the power-folding roof. Looking past the weirdness, thereÂ’s a regular car interior here that straddles the line between a premium and non-premium car. The $40,350 price of our Mini Cooper S tester signals that this is positioned as a small and sporty premium car, and there are some genuinely luxurious touches. The Chesterfield Brown leather seats with white piping and pretty quilting sure do scream luxury, while all of the weighty switches and nicely-damped buttons signal the same. The above said, the standard Mini interior is all leatherette, full of cheap-looking shiny plastic trim and is really slacking when it comes to many features weÂ’d expect would come standard. For example, a base Mini Cooper S Convertible at $28,750 doesnÂ’t have heated seats, proximity entry, auto climate control or an auto-dimming mirror.