Small cars are popular in Europe not so much in the states. It's good for MINI they are popular on the other side of the pond. Although that won't help MINI USA.
That depends on where you are in the US. In SoCal (where I was previously) there are tons of MINIs (of the non-countryman variety) and many modded ones. I suspect that the higher the population density the more popular small sporty cars become. A great deal will come into play here to determine success. How "outrageous" will the styling be? Are the rumors of slushbox autos true, or will it be a sequential gearbox if there is no traditional manual option? Will they succeed in unseating the Civic Type-R on Nurburgring lap times? Are the dealers going to be allowed to throw $10k "market premium" markups on these? All of it will play a part. Hence why I am waiting, hopeful but cautious, to see the real deal at the New York auto show in April.
This weekend I drove an Alfa Giulia it had a 7 speed automatic in it. That car was very fast and handled great. I would prefer a manual but that transmission was not bad.
Good looking - and I wish @Dave.0 was closer as I would have him do mine also. Agree - let’s see what the actual production specs are. I’m also very curious to see how the 4th gen looks... but that will be for a different thread. I’ve always had a strange love affair with Alfa. That said, I don’t understand why every cat maker is trying to go Auto only. However, I can say the the Porsche dual clutch is very nice and frankly is much faster than any human. But you miss the art of shifting.
There is a big difference between automatics (torque converters, planetary gears, valve bodies) and automatic sequential gearboxes (automated clutches and small gearbox like a manual or motorcycle). I LOVED the DSG in my MkV GTI. That was TONS of fun. I tracked both a Cayman R and a 718 Cayman GTS with a PDK and they were sublime to drive. You are truly in control. Hold a gear, slap a paddle for the next, downshift like a boss. This is counter to the automatics (or worse the CVTs) that "have paddle shifters" which are just there as feel good buttons. They are slow to react and will upshift at the slightest hint of revs even if you want to hold a gear. They suck.
100% Agree... and way better than the original BMW SMG cars which were single plate. It took some real getting used to especially when driving slowly.
Yea - Not sure I would get rid of a manual... only because I enjoy the art of doing it well. <<Edit>> the art of learning how to do it well..
On a bathroom wall at a dealership maybe? Here is sit broken hearted, Came to buy a Manual GP3, and they only come in an Automatic and that’s retarded.
I'll try and find it. I believe mini may have actually heard the cry from the gear heads. I am surprised if they are really listing. but maybe.
Just like me my car is old. Designed like 20 years ago, before the "turn of the century." I have modified this old car with a short shifter, a sweet sounding header with a high flow cat, lowered the suspension, made some Chevy Cobalt Brembo's work, installed an aggressive cam and put on an intermediate valve head. Hell, I have even sawed a junk yard intercooler apart and used a portion of it to have two more rows of tubes on my intercooler like the GP1 unit. For me a sports car has a stick shift and the only buttons you push with your fingers are on the radio. A radio that does not have prerecorded muffler noise to play through the speakers when you step on the gas. When I get really old and I can no longer work the clutch pedal with my foot or shift from 1st to 2nd, perhaps I will sell my old MINI and buy a newer used GP3.
More pics. Looks pretty good to me. Wheel arch aero is funky but I don't hate it. The wrap is cool. It's a bunch of race-track layouts instead of camo. Transmission remains a mystery. https://www.carscoops.com/2019/04/2020-mini-jcw-gp-with-300hp-caught-in-production-form/amp/
I didn't notice the wrap was racetracks, that's cool. It doesn't look bad. I wish they had kept the side pods the way they were on the prototype.
New York Auto Show starts tomorrow. I suspect all of the speculation will end with the reveal. Manual or Sequential gearbox I am on-board. If it has a slushbox auto I am gonna walk and buy something fun at Barrett-Jackson in January.
Well did anyone see the GP3 at the NY auto show? Does it have the pizza slicer fender flares? Does it have the basset hound droopy rear wing? Does it come in a 4 door & SUV variant? Oh man it starts tomorrow. How can I wait that long???