We’ve previously run a couple of speculative stories on the Mini John Cooper Works GP. It is with some relief that we are now able to provide some official information and images of Mini’s worst-kept secret. Officially debuting at the Mini United Festival in Le Castellet, France, the 2013 Mini John Cooper Works GP is basically the Mini John Cooper Works with more of the works. That includes a mean-looking body kit with an air-gobbling front fascia, new side skirts, a rear diffuser, and a carbon-fiber wing above the backlight. Four-spoke wheels—and lipstick-red mirrors, for that matter—tend to look funny on cars less whimsical than the innately jocular Mini, but as with this car’s predecessor, the mischievous 2006 Mini Cooper S John Cooper Works GP Kit, this model looks rather snappy. The C/D jury is out on the new GP’s black, silver, and red body graphics, but stickers come off as easily as they’re applied. All We Know is 8:23 Other performance enhancements include the removal of the hatchback’s rear seat as well as the fitment of a suite of race-worthy chassis bits, including an adjustable suspension, upgraded brakes, and high-performance tires. Detailed specs on those components as well as those pertaining to the GP’s engine, which we expect to be a version of the turbocharged 1.6-liter four-banger found in the larger JCW Countryman, will be revealed later this year closer to the GP’s market introduction. The GP should get the same 211 hp and 221 lb-ft of torque from the 1.6-liter as the JCW Countryman, however. We also must wait to learn how much Mini plans to charge for the new super Cooper, as well as what slice of its 2000-unit production run will be dished out to American customers. We did learn, however, that all 2000 vehicles confirmed at this point will be hatchbacks. If Mini goes ahead with any JCW GP coupes would be part of a separate production run. However shy with product details Mini is being at this point, it did provide one particularly revealing statistic: At 8 minutes and 23 seconds, the 2013 JCW GP hatch laps the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife a considerable 19 seconds faster than its predecessor. Strident journalists that we are, we’d prefer to verify that ourselves. Just tell us when to show up.
MINI Cooper JCW GP set for canadian production in 2013
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Originally Posted by DonJuan
