MINI has a long and illustrious competitive history, dating all the way back to the original marque's heyday in the 1960s. The famous "Italian Job" getaway is nothing compared to what MINIs have done in actual racing. And since the revival of the brand under BMW ownership, the "John Cooper Works" moniker — taken from old-school race tuner John Cooper, who gave his name to the first MINI Cooper in 1961 — has signaled that a MINI could be taken to the track. And trusted to do its job as a legitimate high-performance machine.
One of my personal favorite cars of all time is the MINI JCW, which I tested years ago and am still scared of.
Last year, MINI brought out the JCW GP, the most intense and fastest vehicle it's ever produced. The car was meant to hit the street — er, the race track — mid-way through 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic appears to have slowed things down. In the US, you're still limited to pre-ordering a GP, for $1,000.
Only 3,000 will be made, and the car is already advertising its bona fides. It lapped Germany's legendary Nürburgring in under eight minutes, according to the MINI. That's up there with some older Porsche 911s and Ferraris.
MINI loaned me a 2021 JCW GP — base price of $44,900, but $45,750 as-tested — in an awesome "Racing Grey Metallic" paint job. My challenge was to figure out if I could fake a race track somewhere in the New Jersey suburbs. I failed, but I had a good time.
Here's how it went: