There is little question the original JCW GP is a special car — an incredibly special car. It was thrown together at break-neck speed with off-the-shelf parts and yet it’s one of the most satisfying cars I’ve ever driven at any price. Sure, MINI had some trouble selling all of them at the time, as […] More...
Another fawning article by MF....Yawn. Sorry, the GP2 is an evolution, not a revolution. Virtually all of the performance gains come down to those sticky Kumho's (which improve EVERYTHING--acceleration, cornering, and especially braking). Nice car, but BMW left A LOT on the table, which I suspect was intentional. If they drop the 2.0 liter in the 2015, then you can talk about having the first "Real" GP.
Winding Road | Preview: 2015 Mini Cooper And Cooper S Real performance? Winding Road says 2.0 liter with "only" 189 HP? Other Mfgrs offer 2.0 liter I4s with 240, 290 and 355 HP. If Mini doesn't do it, I hope after-marketers will offer 300 HP upgrades to go with other mods. Then we will really have something.
I think MF got it backwards. The GP is the original & best one. Anything you tack a II on the end of just isn't the same. Remember those Mustang II's?
Forgetaboutit.... I fear BMW/MINI is becoming less of a performance car company.... You will be lucky to see anything north of 200 HP with a MINI sticker on it.... The ECU will be "locked", and the only mods you will be able to add are the prerequisite cold air intake and some kind of after cat exhaust... Factory mods might be a special tune that adds 5-10 HP and a ton of red stickers.... You know... To justify the added premium.... Nope... The future is going to be laced with a bunch of electronic gimmicks.... Things like "Self Park".... Face-twit on the center screen.... Mood lighting everywhere... Vibrating heated seats... Heated steering wheel.... Heated shift knob... Heated seat-belts... Motorized foot pedals... Motorized tilt and sway steering column.... rotating easy exit hinged seats... Motorized position heated headrests with integrated speakers and air bags... Motorized heated floor mats with mood lighting... Nope.... The future is here and it has nothing to do with performance...
300 WHP is not hard to hit with an R53 now. (not a 2.0 Liter) I have 260 ish now and a Rotex or TVS will put me at 300 easy. That is also without a whole lower end rebuild or stroker motor or stand alone ECU. :lol: They cant make ANY MINI have more power than the lowerst BMW it just wont happen. RMW power is not a myth its real power.
I'm guessing no one here has ever written a senator, representative or director of the NHTSA or the EPA about the excessive safety, emissions and fuel economy standards that are being imposed on all of us. They're only hearing from "constituents" (mostly lobbyists and corporations) that support and will benefit financially from those positions - rarely from any regular voting constituents like us. Not too long ago, a senator told me that just two or three letters can change his mind on a topic. If you don't express your opinion, you deserve what you get, because your lawmakers in Washington, D.C. can't guess what you're thinking. Sometimes, the system does work. Watch horsepower ratings continue to fall as automakers struggle to meet ridiculous fuel-economy standards. And, BTW, BMW will keep adding every option in the universe (just like every other manufacturer) if it means selling another car. That's OK with me, because it means, hopefully, that BMW will use some of those profits to make the next JCW a killer car. End of rant.
I have written and know a lot of others that have too. None of them (either side) pay any attention to anything that the people want or say. They only want power and money.
From reading between the lines, I really think BMW is going to raise the stakes considerably on the next GP--time will tell. I love the first GP, but was disappointed in the power output, ditto the second. At some point they'll have to bump the HP at that price point, or it won't sell.
Let's assume the new S at 189 is crank HP, so any R53 with 200 WHP is already around 225-230. We (with R53s) are already there with basic mods without even changing heads, headers, or cams. So, the 2.0 189 HP 2015 Mini is a non-event performance-wise. Isn't the current JCW at around 210?Guess I'll stick with Gen 1 and RMW tuning.
I have driven stock and modified GP 1's and a stock GP II with the original soft Kumhos. Both generations of GP's are very good driving cars, very well balanced. That being said, more power helps and the modified GP 1 I drove is pushing 300 whp - an awesome ride!! The stock GP II was pretty fast too and handled brilliantly with those soft tires, but it needs to make some more exhaust noise for my taste. Too quiet. Would love to try it on the track.
I mentioned on a thread that I had been lucky enough to have had someone let me take their GPII for a spin. There were some things that I really did like about the GPII, but as I have mentioned in previous discussions on this topic, IMHO MINI failed with the GPII. For something that was so long in the planning stages, unlike the GPI, they missed the same things that they over looked in a “thrown together at break-neck speed with off-the-shelf parts†GIR unit, (that is an Invader Zim reference for those that were wondering). There was just so much more they, MINI could have done. No MINI will ever be faster off the shelf than a BMW, and with MINI expanding their fleet, performance benefits will be inherent to the physical shape of the MINI, that and an awful lot of aftermarket crap… sorry, parts. With all the media out there at MINI’s fingertips you would think they had an idea of what the public was looking for :nonod:
I have. Nice car, but way overpriced. Admittedly, I haven't driven it on the track though. Look, it doesn't matter what we think--if you like it, that's all that counts. I have bought many things that are overpriced, simply because I wanted them so much, it was worth it TO ME. This includes many parts for my MINI that are not exactly bargains, but it gets me where I want to be. Personally, I am disappointed in what BMW did, but that's just my opinion. I wanted a more uncompromised track beast, and a fair comparison to the GP1, and it falls short there. The truth is, wether you like the GP1 or GP2, until BMW makes the model with significantly more torque/HP than it's R53 or R56 siblings, it's not that much of an upgrade, especially for the premium BMW is charging. When you throw in the fact that the GP2 is not exactly the best platform to mod on, other than a tune, and you can get a GP1 to 250 WHP easily, and 300WHP and still probably be under the price of the GP2 or at least close, well……. Just don't take it personal. It's certainly not meant that way, it's just an opinion. You're on the boards quite a bit and I respect you; I take issue with the car, not the person--like I said, if you love it, it doesn't matter if some of us don't.
I am not a fan of any 2nd Gen MINI's and the GP 2 but I have no issues with the owners that have them. Rick you are a good guy in my book and when we are together at the Dragon you darn FUN to hang around with.