MINI JCW GP Revealed With 8:19 Nurburgring Lap Time

Painted and styled much like the JCW Countryman we saw in Geneva, MINI has announced its John Cooper Works GP today.

As the fastest MINI ever built, the JCW GP will go on sale later this year in a run limited to 2,000 units worldwide. This is the second time the company has offered such a car, but this version is by far better than the last, lapping the Nurburgring a whole 19 seconds faster for a brand-best time of eight minutes and 23 seconds.

To give that number some context, it’s faster than a BMW 335i Coupe (8:26) or the BMW E36 M3 (8:22), showing just how potent a package the new MINI JCW GP is.

Final performance figures aren’t available yet, but the company says they will easily best the previous 214-hp that the MINI Cooper S with a full John Cooper Works package had on tap.

What we do know is that the new JCW GP comes with a full body aero kit including a front lip, side skirts, rear diffuser and a carbon fiber rear spoiler. It also gets an exclusive powertrain, new brakes and a special chassis meant for track handling, which is complimented by the bespoke sport tires meant for increasing grip during performance driving.

Expect more details on the limited edition MINI JCW GP in the near future as its release approaches.