The JCW GP Gets an Upgrade?

Sections: JCW Jan 21st, 2006 49 Comments

The JCW GP, the car that disappointed MINI fans everywhere with it’s paltry 8bhp upgrade, 88lbs weight difference and questionable styling details is set to show off some surprises at the Geneva autoshow in March.

Weight Reduction
MotoringFile learned yesterday that BMW has further upgrades in-store for the GP that weren’t mentioned at Misano. The plan is to use Bertone’s experience in aluminum components to swap out a few major components of the body shell from steel to aluminum. Specifically the clamshell hood and the tailgate will be made of the lightweight metal. In fact we’ve been told to expect almost a 50% weight savings as compared to the standard panels. Needless to say it should be indeed lighter than what was paraded at Misano back in October.

Power Increases
We were also told to expect further surprises on the power end as well. The rumor is that MINI is still aiming for a final number of 230bhp. That would be up 12bhp from the original advertised spec and would undoubtedly go a long way in turning around some opinions on the GP.

Styling Tweaks
But what about that body kit? The one that seemingly no-one liked. Well either MINI has listened to the criticism or simply had more time to finish it as we were told to expect a more “cohesive” look to the car. No details were given other than modifications are indeed being made to the final styling.

So there you have it. The news many of us have been hoping to hear. The final JCW GP will debut at Geneva in March and should go on sale in Europe in June and the US in July. The first trial cars should be manufactured shortly so expect further spy shots may start rearing their heads on the web soon.

[ MotoringFile Analysis: JCW GP Kit ] MotoringFile

[ JCW GP Kit US Announcement ] MotoringFile

[ The JCW GP – More Power, Less Weight [ MotoringFile

Written By: Gabe

http://www.miniclubsusa.com Luke K

Once again, MotoringFile fans around the word have spoken, and their will done. I’m ALOT more excited about the GP now then I ever thought I would be.
Trick

Damn. . .

Anyone want to buy a week old PW MCS?

Nah. . . just kidding. Until July anyhow.
WxSquid

Looks like I need to start softening up the Sales Manager now for that sweet trade-in deal… and making double payments to trade in! :)
Ric Stofer

:-) :-) :-)…… Thanks Gabe!
mike

i wonder if this will have any effect on the price?
giacomo

They heard the Thunder. I hope the “hated’ Red mirrors and spoiler stay. I loved them. As far as the body colour UGH! Make it some asskickin’ pearl red or spankin’ blue with some kool graphics. As Emeril would say “KICK IT UP A NOTCH, OR TWO!” This ain’t no Gremlin!
Lou A.

I’m feeling a little better about being #1 on my dealer’s GP list now.
http://www.mightyminiz.com doug

Cool News.

I was on a list, then I took myself off. Not due to anything more than the anticipation of the 07′s. I suppose they have to make sure they have sales every moment and this is a great way to keep the sales river flowing.
James

What a novel thing – a car company that listens and responds to what its customers and fans have to say. THis is unheard of. I mean, Pontiac added hood scoops to the GTO at the behest of much critisism about its bland looks, but that car had already been on the market a couple of years. Mini is committed to getting this car right before it even gets to market.

But why should that be unique? Shouldn’t every car company be doing this? Doesn’t this make just plain good sense?
GSP

This sounds much better! But you know what they say …. “Be careful what you ask for – you just might get it.” That aluminum won’t be cheap.
MickyD

Isn’t the hood on the standard car aluminium anyway???
http://www.motoringfile.com/ Gabe

IsnÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t the hood on the standard car aluminium anyway???

No.
Allan

I think they wer just keeping us in suspense.. =)
Andy

the reason i think this is so great is that MINI must really be listening to the people. Not so much what that have done to change it but that they have recognized a need based on input and are making the move. Kudos to MINI
http://www.nemini.org GMINI

woah. keeping that #2 position sure paid off. (price not withstanding)
O(=^=)O Capn

What a novel thing – a car company that listens and responds to what its customers and fans have to say. Mini is committed to getting this car right before it even gets to market.

Wow! I know, really.

Way to go MINI! Now, Could I have mine delivered to Radford to have it turned into a MIGLIA with the stage five package, now that would be cool!
mg5904

Can’t wait to see what this hot rod can do at the Targa Newfoundland.
Nathaniel Salzman

Hazaa! Good to hear that it’s going to be a little more serious of a car. I’m also excited that they’re going to shore up that body kit a little more – it needs it bad.

And kudos to MINI from me too that they really do seem to take a lot of constructive feedback from their enthusiast community. They’ve been smart enough to realize that we MINI-obsessors have our fingers on the pulse of the brand in a lot of ways and they’ve paid that respectful attention. That’s going to be a factor in their future success.
Edge

Very interesting news… I still hold out in vain hope that a JCW210 -> JCWGP upgrade will be made available at some point, although I suspect that MINI or JCW will be very strict to keep the engine changes exclusive to the GP. I’ll keep my fingers crossed anyway!
Dennis

I liked it before and they are making it even better. Depending on the price I might have to trade my truck in on this.
http://www.carcounsel.com/hid carcounsel.com

(couldn’t agree with you more, James!)

i haven’t felt my mouth water like this since the limited slip option was announced.

lower polar moment of inetia and lower unsprung weight? yes please!

more top end rush than even the JCW? icing on the cake!

the way the mini’s performance has blossomed over the product cycle reminds me of another icon – the Integra Type R. That car wasn’t beautiful but the changes improved the function so when you see one it’s sexy for what it does not how it looks.

I’m no aerodnamicist but hopefully they’ll focus more on underbody venturis etc and less on the cosworth style wing – perhaps use Saab like flaps rather than those warts to manage airflow over the rear wheels. I’d love aa delete option for the kit as they do for the JC Whitney looking rear lip spoiler on the M3 and M5. That way if you’re more concerned with appearance/subtlty than high speed downforce and lap times you could still enjoy the changes that can be appreciated the weight reduction and power hike, changes that you don’t need to be doing freeway speeds. And they of course could pocket more money. A win win situation…

(I wonder if they’ll allow sunroof and Xenons to be optioned – seems silly to go through such pains to save weight then ladle it back on where it does the most damage).
Siddhartha

THAT’S more like it! Won’t bite, though. I’ll take my chances on NOT seeing one on the track.
artgmd

Nicer, but what will they do next year?
http://www.motoringfile.com/ Gabe

Nothing. the next generation JCW MCS won’t be out until late 2007 at the earliest:

motoringfile.com/2006/01/13/the-next-generation-jcw-cooper-s/
Pingback: carcounsel.com |HID| » Blog Archive » lean, mean, kinda green
http://whitemaleconsumer.com Zeke

Intriguing. Good MINI. The question is though… Are there any still available?
Z4MINI

I am dubious.

Anytime you start replacing body panels, it’s going to have an effect on the crashworthiness of the car and I can’t see MINI messing with that too much.
IanF

Crud… and I had just about put the thought of a GP out of my mind…

Good point on the crash-worthiness… that could be an issue… especially for the U.S. market.

As far as options, my guess is like the MC40, there will be none save dealer-installed stuff.
http://www.motoringfile.com/ Gabe

Available options have been discussed in a few earlier GP stories. You may want to check the archives for the answer.
http://www.carcounsel.com/hid carcounsel.com

Z4MINI -

Bear in mind that the 95 M3 LTW (lightweight) had an aluminum hood and doors and that an increasing number of (thoroughly engineered) cars with class leading safety (e.g. subaru legacy) use aluminum in the panels. the pieces are no doubt more likely to be disposed after a minor shunt but the difference in crash safety – though not identical – should be should be negligible.
meb

How much for progress? I don’t remember reading about the final MSRP.

As far as content…less weight and more power is a great thing. However, the wheels MUST go!!! Very ugly! Now, it doesn’t really matter what BMW does with various parts, but rather, how they make this thing fly when they’re finished. I’m up for a new one by the end of summer…if it flys fatser…
Z4MINI

Bear in mind that the 95 M3 LTW (lightweight) had an aluminum hood and doors and that an increasing number of (thoroughly engineered) cars with class leading safety (e.g. subaru legacy) use aluminum in the panels. the pieces are no doubt more likely to be disposed after a minor shunt but the difference in crash safety – though not identical – should be should be negligible.

Valid points.

However the 1995 M3 was a long time ago and impact tests have gotten much more violent. (New SUV-type side impacts this year). New production cars like the Legacy are engineered from the start to use alloy bits. The MINI was not. And while the crashworthiness might not be reduced by much…or at all, the only way to find that out would be to put cars through crash testing. I am sure that is not an easy or inexpensive prospect.

I remain dubious of the lightened body panels.
http://www.motoringfile.com/ Gabe

Numerious current cars use aluminum body panels (and composite) infront of the bulk-head. Some even are entire aluminum up there. I don’t see this as a legitimate reason to not use aluminum in the NA market.
Z4MINI

Numerious current cars use aluminum body panels (and composite) infront of the bulk-head. Some even are entire aluminum up there. I donÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t see this as a legitimate reason to not use aluminum in the NA market.

OK. In that case…how about this! :D Has anyone considered that the metal presses for steel and aluminum might not have the same requirements? Jaguar had considerable problems with rebound when designing the body panels for their latest round of cars. The aluminum would not stay “pressed.” In any case…I’m sure it is not as easy as slipping a sheet of duraluminum into the standard presses that punch out the stock body work. Anyone with some machine shop or industrial design experience?
tony T

Gabe, the issue is whether or not the car has to undergo (expensive) re-crash testing. The point about it being prohibitivly expensive for a few hundred USA bound cars is valid.

In the UK, SVA testing can get around this issue – but I’m not sure how this applies to larger manufacturers. Could this be a reason why the car is limited to 2000 examples – any more made and more stringent testing called for? Any ideas?

One things for sure though – to say that BMW are using Bertones experience in Aluminium components is quite frankly absurd. Another case of PR misinformation in my opinion. BMW is one of the largest manufacturers in the world – they dont need a tin pot firm like Bertone to tell them about the mysteries of Aluminium.
http://www.motoringfile.com/ Gabe

No but they need a partner who knows how to deal with manufacturing of the stuff.
tony T

So, 230bhp hey? About time. And how to achieve 230 bhp economically from the JCW conversion? Well, better Intercooler has already been suggested. Probably a proper job on the cylinder head as well- thinking exhaust valves in particular – anda properly agressive remap.

What else do you rekon…? Anyone?

All items that should be available from the parts department by October I rekon…. :-)
tony T

BMW made cars out of Aluminium not so long ago… if you know your BMW history. So – did they forget…?
http://www.motoringfile.com/ Gabe

They make them out of aluminum now as well.
tony T

My point exactly. Now if they were making components out of plastic – I’d understand the link (couldnt really ask Smart about that one) :-)

So, any more ideas where the extra power has suddenly appeared from? Finding another RELIABLE 12bhp without a major component change would be quite tricky I would guess?

Any chance they found another 100cc in the engine… ;-)
http://www.motoringfile.com/ Gabe

My source didn’t know details… just that 230bhp was still the internal target despite publicly releasing te 218bhp figure in October.
Shania

If you really are listening, BMW… I REALLY want a rear seat. Please…
Dennis

What’s the big deal with aluminum? The NSX has been made out of it for the last 15 years.

I want to see what the price is going to be on the GP…
minicoopermike

Any further info about the price of the GP???
caramba

Re aluminum front ends, the existing steel clamshell is probably only made from that because its relatively cheap and conventional, the substitute aluminium should not really affect the passenger comaprtment of the car differently as its the stuff underneath which forms the deformation area to protect the cell where the occupants are. I’d imagine that remains the same in terms of integral strength and character. As for the extra HP, well a decent remap and pulley will do for that if the normal JCW parts are used, I think the JCW package guarantees 210 on normal cars, so with the map and intercooler tweaked there is no reason why it cannot be achieved, There are enough people running around in cars with 240 output from aftermarket tuners without problems, I guess BMW are being conseravitive with the power to preserve the reliability.
Erik Rutberg

BMW owes Bertone a favor to keep them in business. BMW contracted Bertone to build their C1 Motorcycle/scooter. Due to low demand they discontinued it, and to help Bertone stay in business they contracted them to build the GP. I was not too excited about my GP order until I read this. I did like the original spec, but I had hoped for much more, and I knew there would be. The only reason I ordered the original spec was because my ’03 will be over 60k this summer, and I like my daily driver to be relatively new. Now I really can’t wait. Tempted to sell my ti and and keep the old MINI too, but MINI resale seems to be too high for that.

Erik Rutberg 2006 GP on order 2004 325xiT, wife’s car 2003 MINI Cooper S, tons of mods 1997 318ti/Dinan3, supercharged 1988 M5 1985 735iA 1973 2002
THE ITCH

Whooo Hooo who’s your Daddy Now? I am so glad to hear that MINI is listening to what we have to say. It is great news to here that they are uping the hp to give the GP what a send off car should have. I think it is even better news that they are trying to take off a little more weight. I really like it when the factory makes modifications that are a little different than what you can get from after market vendors. I’m wondering about a couple of different things. First thought is how they are coming up with the additional hp improvment. I’m very curious to here the reports on that. The second thought is seeing as how they are going to be making the hood out of alluminum wouldn’t this be a great time to improve upon the hood scoop to give that intercooler a little more air? All I know is I feel like a kid outside a candy store waiting for it to open. I’m so glad I have my deposite in and am first on the list at my dealers. All this waiting is killing me!
Steve Harvey

Now I see why my MINI sales manager (who is also a best friend for many years) said to take a look at the latest information on MotoringFile! I love my current MINI Cooper S and enjoy sharing that enthusiasm with others. I’m looking forward to taking delivery on one of these special edition units later this year, indeed. I am optimistic that MINI will continue to make the right changes to the final product so it can be a real long-term cherished edition.
http://www.gbmini.net Ian C.

Never happened … Re-check this source ;)

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