MINI JCW GP Review in Magazines

[matsarm]

"If only John Cooper and Sir Alec Issigonis could see it. In the sixties the two Mini pioneers showed the automotive world what you could get out of a small British car; now the latest MINI GP takes that to a level that wouldn’t have been thought possible. This GP is about as extreme as MINIs get and its wild new look is backed up by thundering performance."

Review of the new GP in Auto Express this week.

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/mini/mini/352153/new-mini-john-cooper-works-gp-2020-review

EDIT:

Car Magazine Review https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-reviews/mini/jcw-gp/

[badwolf340]

Good review of the GP3

[MINI William]

Not a bad review at all

[MINI William]

I’ve never noticed the torque steer complaint, granted the cars running in so haven’t went WOT

[ELFMAN]

I really like the GP3. I’ve seen that video and in true “Crocodile Dundee” knife-comparing spirit I’d say “That’s not Torque Steer!” Anybody who’d been in my car on the Yorkshire Moors would’ve seen some proper torque steer. Full power in 3rd with a mechanical LSD on a bumpy ‘creatively cambered’ road... It put the power down alright, just not on the desired side of the road! I was hanging on for about 100 yards as it took off with a mind of its own. I literally laughed out loud - as my life flashed before my eyes. Absolute blast! These new-fangled digitally mastered flappy-paddled Minis don’t know they’re living! Torque Steer? Kids eh? No Worries Mate!

Thing is, if you’re sticking about 73 more lbs/ft and 76 more BHP than I have through the front wheels and you DIDN’T get some torque steer you’d be asking for your money back as they’d have gone all ‘PC’ and engineered the fun out of it!

[badwolf340]

I really like the GP3. I’ve seen that video and in true “Crocodile Dundee” knife-comparing spirit I’d say “That’s not Torque Steer!” Anybody who’d been in my car on the Yorkshire Moors would’ve seen some proper torque steer. Full power in 3rd with a mechanical LSD on a bumpy ‘creatively cambered’ road... It put the power down alright, just not on the desired side of the road! I was hanging on for about 100 yards as it took off with a mind of its own. I literally laughed out loud - as my life flashed before my eyes. Absolute blast! These new-fangled digitally mastered flappy-paddled Minis don’t know they’re living! Torque Steer? Kids eh? No Worries Mate!
Thing is, if you’re sticking about 73 more lbs/ft and 76 more BHP than I have through the front wheels and you DIDN’T get some torque steer you’d be asking for your money back as they’d have gone all ‘PC’ and engineered the fun out of it!
Elfman spot on mate :thumbs up:

[ELFMAN]

It’s quite a vivid memory Brian, luckily there was nobody coming the other way! I might even have been chasing you & Christina in your JCW Convertible at the time - see attached ‘Pit Stop’ photo, although it’s happened more than once over the years!

Re. Torque Steer, I remember the original Focus RS got a bit of a bad reputation for that back in the day, but somebody road tested one a few years later and found it pretty acceptable. Maybe improvements in tyre & traction technology (and prevailing road conditions) have a lot to do with specific results? I think a lot of these car control ‘problems’ are overstated by folks who are unaware of the likes of the 427 Cobra which could spit you off the road backwards in 4th in a straight line...

[badwolf340]

It’s quite a vivid memory Brian, luckily there was nobody coming the other way! I might even have been chasing you & Christina in your JCW Convertible at the time - see attached ‘Pit Stop’ photo, although it’s happened more than once over the years!

Re. Torque Steer, I remember the original Focus RS got a bit of a bad reputation for that back in the day, but somebody road tested one a few years later and found it pretty acceptable. Maybe improvements in tyre & traction technology (and prevailing road conditions) have a lot to do with specific results? I think a lot of these car control ‘problems’ are overstated by folks who are unaware of the likes of the 427 Cobra which could spit you off the road backwards in 4th in a straight line...
:yes nod::hand:

[MINI William]

Another good review for the GP

[matsarm]

Another one today from Top Gear... GP vs Megane RS Trophy

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/hot-hatch/twin-test-mini-jcw-gp-vs-renault-megane-rs-trophy-r

[MINI William]

Another one today from Top Gear... GP vs Megane RS Trophy

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/hot-hatch/twin-test-mini-jcw-gp-vs-renault-megane-rs-trophy-r (https://www.topgear.com/car-news/hot-hatch/twin-test-mini-jcw-gp-vs-renault-megane-rs-trophy-r)

Far from the best review, a lot of bitching though. They do have a point that the GP should have been a bit more hardcore, as previous generations should have been, I’ve always thought that there was scope for a bit more.

[DigitalLemming]

Every GP has had flaws in some way (despite what some R53 GP owners might claim), they've always been a bit on the side of comfort rather than all out track car.

MINI needed to shift 2/3 thousand of them, I don't think the Megane in that review has sold in numbers like that, so there's sacrifices needed somewhere to appeal to more folk.

[ELFMAN]

Re. Top Gear: I’m sure there was a review in there somewhere if you could get past the Lad’s Mag rhetoric and forced matey banter... (yaaawwwwnn). £50k for a Renault Megane? You can stick that in a baguette and smoke it. As for the £72k version - Nurburgring Mega Muncher it may be, but it still proves some punters had more money than sense. Just think of what else you could get for £72k!!!! Madness.

GPs have always resisted going the whole Track Spec hog, because arguably folks want to use the bloody things on the roads and not be TOO compromised doing so. They’ve always drawn criticism for that very fact, so nothing new here then. It’s the same old story, you pays your money... and £34k is a LOT of money, but you can spend a similar amount (or a whole lot more - see above) on very quick but very overpriced hatchbacks or far less interesting machinery... Long Live the GP! Bring back Tiff Needell! Where’s me Werther’s...?

Ps I reckon CAR magazine’s take on it was more realistic, and much more informative. Which is what happens when you actually concentrate on the car you’re reviewing rather than showcasing your questionable Comedic Wit... Having said all that, I realise I’m probably no longer in Top Gear’s “Target Demographic”, so I probably just don’t ‘Get It’.