2013 MINI John Cooper Works GP Review
2013 MINI JOHN COOPER WORKS GP REVIEW
What’s Hot: Super-fast, tough-looking, sounds great.
What’s Not: Australia only gets 55 of them, rear seats MIA, no cruise control.
X-Factor: Fastest Mini ever. Need we say more?
Vehicle Style: Small sports hatch
Engine/trans: 160kW/260Nm (280Nm overboost) 1.6 turbo four | 6sp manual
Price: $56,900 (plus on-roads)
Fuel Economy claimed: 7.1l/100km | tested: 9.1l/100km
OVERVIEW
The current R56 MINI is on the way out. So, what better way to send it off than to bring out one last (very) special edition in the form of the John Cooper Works GP?
For aficionados, it's the JCW GP.
The MINI behind that alphabet soup is a strict two-seater, the rear seats discarded to help pare down the weight to 1160kg. It also comes with a bit more power, sticky tyres and a wild aero kit.
It’s meant as a trackday warrior that you can also live with on the road. Does it manage this delicate balancing act?
INTERIOR | RATING: 3.5/5
Quality: It’s no secret it’s a BMW and the interior quality reflects that.
It’s more fun in here than a 3 Series though. Big dinner plate central speedo, steering column-mounted tacho (with digital speedo for ease of use) and toggle switches help make it special inside.
Excellent materials abound but there’s the occasional twitter and creak from the trim here and there (mostly, we noticed, coming from the covers that replace the rear seats).
Comfort: Two big Recaro buckets grab you and hold you tight. Larger folk won’t appreciate the big bolsters but there is excellent support in all directions.
In even the hardest cornering these seats won't let you go and are upholstered in grippy Alcantara across the back and squab.
The steering wheel is adjustable for reach and rake and the aluminium oval pedals are surprisingly well-spaced (for such a small car).
Equipment: There’s not a lot of room in the MINI for too much gear, but the JCW goes with the “less is more” maxim.
The feature list extends to keyless entry, electric front windows, Bluetooth, USB, aux-in, heated front Recaro seats, ambient lighting, red-stitched leather upholstery, climate control air-con.
Unfortunately, a standard USB cable doesn’t work, nor does it have cruise control.
Storage: A large glove box is the highlight of the storage up front, joined by two cupholders and a very small tray under the toggle switch array.
There’s a lot of extra space behind the front seats where the rears used to be, but that is compromised somewhat by the extra bracing. Unique to the GP is a pair of shallow trays under a floor covering that was loose in our car and rattled.
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