I think sometimes I may have come across as bashing GPs and that is not what I have been trying to say.

Have fun. YOU ALL got a bargain, in my eyes and I would have had one too if the timing had been right.

Please do not confuse disappointment in MINI's offerings with disappointment in the model ... two different things

 

Hater



On a lighter note I personally attest that I bashed Chows several times for his "special" Mini. He never once posted in anger or questioned my love of all things Mini.

I have not ever driven a GP. I do feel that for the price, it is a comparative steal over a similarly equipped JCW.

While I understand the eventual comparisons to the MC40, the GP is a slightly different beast. For the price of admission it includes every go-fast bit that Mini will allow for sale in the states, plus some modest tweaks that can't be had anywhere else.

But let's not fool ourselves, when the specs for the GP were announced, the general feeling was dismay that Mini couldn't have given it some more HP (a little more porting, maybe the JCW header, etc) and that the weight loss was so modest. I won't even trouch the reaction to the aesthetics of the car.....

The reviews are in and I have not seen one pan of the GP - in fact most reviewers tend to agree that the changes magically equal a sum greater than the collective parts.

This is great news for those who bought the GP and I am very happy that the car has proven to be a ballsy little over-achiever. this does still not change the fact that some people truly feel that Mini could have done more for their final tribute to the now defunct R53.

 

You don't have a MINI any more, but you're still bashing us who do?!

[joke, definitely! but why don't you have a MINI any more]



356 of the 415 USA GPs have been sold - my guess is many of the rest are due to attempted large mark-ups by dealerships; one benefit of the connected world hopefully is that less people get caught by such practices.


The GP is definitely nothing like an MC40. It still doesn't have a sunroof, but at least it has heated seats

Actually, there are things I can criticize - way up there at number one is the noise, due to all sound insulation being omitted as well as the rear seats; road noise just echoes disturbingly loudly in the back of the car.

But there's things that are just excellent too, above what I would have expected - the ride is so smooth for 18" wheels, the power and handling is addictive ...

There's always going to be people who say they want even more. But if the GP had the carbon fiber hood they wanted, and the 230hp racing spec JCW, those people still wouldn't have been happy and at probably close to $40K none of them would have sold.


Guaranteed there are faster / lighter / whatever MINIs in the aftermarket arena - they probably aren't such fun to drive on regular roads.

Guaranteed down the road there will be an even quicker factory MINI, probably when the JCW turbo is released. For a similar spec to the GP it will certainly be more expensive too (prices go up year by year), and GP owners will have been smiling for a year or two.

A JCW upgraded MC40 is a wonderful car that I would have enjoyed owning - I'm still jealous of those seats. The GP is a wonderful car that I am enjoying owning. Hopefully future special MINIs will also be wonderful enough for me to be tempted

 

chows, your post is very inaccurate. Most of the critiques and complaints of the car stopped when the car came out.

It was actually very easy to bash when it was first announced, hell, I didnt even take it seriously. It's only AFTER it came out, and people starting receiving them, that other people actually started to take the car seriously.

The car really is the best R53 you can get, and really does make it go out with a bang.

It's going to depreciate like no other MINI.

 

Interesting about the numbers. First time I've seen this.

Yes, there will always be someone who wants more. Agreed. However, 230 bhp would have been nice
I agree also about the intergration of JCW bits vice aftermarket. That is exactly why I only had JCW bits.

How can an opinion be "inaccurate". An opinion is an opinion, its not a fact.

I said

I am only disappointed that MINI didn't learn a thing from the past. ... adding 4 or 7 bhp over a JCW 210 is ... well sad (IMHO).

But ... do not confuse disappointment in that MINI didn't learn anything from the past with disappointment in the GP.

I ... as in me ... am disappointed in the numbers. I still believe they could have been a very special last hurrah. Something the 2nd Gen MINI would have to aspire to ... Its going to be real easy to get JCW 230 bhp from the turbo (as everyone believes) and thats going to make the GP look pale in about 9 months in terms of HP. I, as in me ... would have liked to see the current generation go out with a Big Bang that it would have taken at least a few years before the 2nd generation passed it. That would have made it truly special. MINI didn't do that

I, as an individual, can be disappointed in the company. I never said I was disappointed in the car. Please do not confuse the two.

 

I tried to buy a GP from my local dealer. They didn't want to commit to getting me one, so I ordered a non-JCW car (back in May). Ironically, the same dealer currently has a GP languishing on their back lot.

We had test-driven an MC40 and came away unimpressed. I've test driven an '06 JCW....I imagine the GP is exactly what I was after...a bit harder edged than that. As was said......timing is everything. My '06 will be paid for in a few months time and I'll enjoy working on it and building a GP beater, though I would have enjoyed owning a GP more.

 

.

 

Quote:

Last edited by Jim Ray : Today at 06:47 AM. Reason: Sudden lack of interest.

Thanks Jim that says a lot.....come on out to the woods with me and let all the post ****** pontificate their navels.........Me, I'm drivin my GP

 

Amen, bro. I'm driving mine! There's so much road noise in the little beast and I'm grinning so hard when I drive my GP I've never been able to hear any of the criticisms anyway! Too busy passing other motorists.

 

 

As soon as I saw the final pricing and the option-spec for the car, I became a fan. I'm still not in love with the color, but that is secondary to me.

Sure, more HP would have been nice, but as GBMINI said, the cost would have been prohibitive. The boost the car did get is about the maximum MINI could do without having to re-certify the car's emmisions, which would have added considerably to the cost.

And I argue that MINI did learn from the mistakes of the MC40. Notice the addition of the MFSW and heated seats in what is marketed as a "performance" version of the MCS. Heated seats were a surprise, but the MFSW should be std equipment on any car over $20k.

 

I origionally turned down 2 GPs...that was before I had actually seen one in person. The GP is now my third new Mini. Being that price of a car is not so much a issue to me, it is mostly about the smile the car gives me when I see it.

My 04 S was a great project. I didnt go way way out on it, but I did do quite a few mods to get the power up. . Thats when the smiles started to diminish. I started to get crap from the dealer because of the ( but not limited too) pully, catch can, ect.... They stated to threaten my warrenty...Ok not the end of the world, but did start to erk me..

The GP gives me the power I wanted achieve, the handleing I wanted to get to, something that is for the most part unique... AND ALL UNDER FACTORY WARRENTY!!!! ( priceless ) No more crap from the dealer service!!! ok,,unless they find something to complain about with the clear bra, and window tint


OBTW.. unless I did not configure something right ( before they changed to the 07 build last week ).. I built a car option for option on the USA site( as close a possible..ie: not 18"wheel option so just used highest price avail ) and the price came out to 33100.00 higher then the GP 31150.00