๏ The Works GP MINI & Success Story ๏
The Works GP MINI
The last version to be made with the Tritec engine is the "MINI Cooper S Works GP", a lightweight, race-prepped John Cooper Works model. Hand-finished by Bertone in Italy, it was produced as a limited-production run of 2000 cars in 2006, with around 415 of those ear-marked for both the US (&Canada ) and UK markets. The 'GP' features more bolstered front seats but has no rear seats, which along with reduced sound-deadening, deleting the rear wash-wipe, offering optional air-conditioning and making other steps to reduce the overall weight, resulted in a weight saving of around 40 kg over a Cooper S. Additionally, the car has enhanced braking and suspension, as well as 218 horsepower from the John Cooper Works engine modification package. In place of the rear seats there is additional body stiffening and below-floor storage areas. There are many unique styling points such as the red door mirrors, a carbon fibre rear spoiler, unique body kit, bespoke (2 kg lighter) 4-spoke alloy wheels and specialised badging. Available in just one colour scheme, Thunder Blue with a Pure Silver roof, each car is individually numbered and features a decal on the roof along with a plaque on the dashboard. The last of the supercharged MINIs and a genuine Limited Edition model, it is expected that the MINI Cooper S Works GP will become a collectors' item.
Success story
Whilst the car has been criticized for its poor space-efficiency compared with the original Mini (despite its significantly larger size), its faithfulness to the original's razor sharp handling characteristics and its unique styling has seen the MINI become a sales success in Europe and (from 2002) in the U.S.
BMW has received a significant backlog of orders throughout the life of the car and the Cowley factory is currently expanding to reach a capacity of around 240,000 cars per year; all of this with little conventional advertising.
The car has featured in many movies, most notable of which is the 2003 remake of The Italian Job. (See also: List of movies in which Mini cars are featured.)
As with the classic Mini, the new MINI has a widespread club and enthusiast following and strong after-market support for performance upgrades and styling enhancements. Such community support keeps the brand highly valued and shows BMW's decision to relaunch the MINI as a successful business strategy. The MINI Cooper/Cooper S won the North American Car of the Year award for 2003.
The last version to be made with the Tritec engine is the "MINI Cooper S Works GP", a lightweight, race-prepped John Cooper Works model. Hand-finished by Bertone in Italy, it was produced as a limited-production run of 2000 cars in 2006, with around 415 of those ear-marked for both the US (&Canada ) and UK markets. The 'GP' features more bolstered front seats but has no rear seats, which along with reduced sound-deadening, deleting the rear wash-wipe, offering optional air-conditioning and making other steps to reduce the overall weight, resulted in a weight saving of around 40 kg over a Cooper S. Additionally, the car has enhanced braking and suspension, as well as 218 horsepower from the John Cooper Works engine modification package. In place of the rear seats there is additional body stiffening and below-floor storage areas. There are many unique styling points such as the red door mirrors, a carbon fibre rear spoiler, unique body kit, bespoke (2 kg lighter) 4-spoke alloy wheels and specialised badging. Available in just one colour scheme, Thunder Blue with a Pure Silver roof, each car is individually numbered and features a decal on the roof along with a plaque on the dashboard. The last of the supercharged MINIs and a genuine Limited Edition model, it is expected that the MINI Cooper S Works GP will become a collectors' item.
Success story
Whilst the car has been criticized for its poor space-efficiency compared with the original Mini (despite its significantly larger size), its faithfulness to the original's razor sharp handling characteristics and its unique styling has seen the MINI become a sales success in Europe and (from 2002) in the U.S.
BMW has received a significant backlog of orders throughout the life of the car and the Cowley factory is currently expanding to reach a capacity of around 240,000 cars per year; all of this with little conventional advertising.
The car has featured in many movies, most notable of which is the 2003 remake of The Italian Job. (See also: List of movies in which Mini cars are featured.)
As with the classic Mini, the new MINI has a widespread club and enthusiast following and strong after-market support for performance upgrades and styling enhancements. Such community support keeps the brand highly valued and shows BMW's decision to relaunch the MINI as a successful business strategy. The MINI Cooper/Cooper S won the North American Car of the Year award for 2003.
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