Months before the F58 MINI Coupe’s debut that fall, MINI dramatically debuted a fully prepped race car ready to tackle the ring. Complete with a semi-automatic transmission, coil-over suspension, racing brakes, roll cage, and other mods, this was (and still is) MINI’s most impressive factory race car ever built before or possibly since.

The precursor to both the F56 GP and the stillborn F58 GP was the MINI JCW Coupe Endurance. A bespoke race car that MINI built to tackle the 24 Hours of the Nurburgring and to serve a test bed for the GP to come. Here’s its story.

MINI John Cooper Works Coupe Endurance, 24h-race 20011, N¸rburgring (06/2011)