A few months ago I was in the market for a more commute-friendly vehicle to drive. The plan was to pick up a Golf or a Matrix or some other appliance hatchback. Well my wife and I got to talking and she reminded me how much fun it was to test drive the original Cooper S back in 2004. That kicked off some web searching and I was surprised to see just how inexpensive used Minis are. That led to finding a listing for a 2009 JCW R56 hatchback. Negotiations with owner regarding a meetup ensued, agreed upon, car checked out and test drive, money exchanged hands and a week later I took it home.

The car is a total riot to drive and my intention is to set it up for autocross and/or rallycross.


As purchased in August 2019

More current photo

Yup she's a German car all right!

 

Hi and welcome to the NAM family!
Very nice looking 09 R56!
Make sure to look at the gen 2 section, as it will let you know the weak areas and what to look for. There is a great amount of info, directed at the gen 2 Mini's
Now, Drive it like you stole in and get that car in the twisties!

 

Love the side graphics!