yeah baby We may not know until '08, but methinks the R56 JCW will run circles around GeneralProduct

 

Pinnacle of what? Over-the-top, cheesy design pawned to the fawning public as something special and unique? To each his own, I guess, but I saw my first GP last week and recoiled in horror--altho I must admit the blacked-out gauges did look pretty neat. But hey if U GeePee-ers love your cars, more power to you!!

(C'mon XAlfa the bar in the rear of GeePee is for OCD sufferers to hang-dry their numerous microfiber towels, no other purpose. )

 

Ah! Hand't thought about that one... but that's a good idea, too!

 

like the new seats...thats about it

current aero kit skeets all over that one

 

I'm almost positive that the bar has to be there for legal reasons somewhere in Europe. Supposedly to protect things from sliding into the back of the seats or between them. However, there could have atleast made it stiff up the rear since it has to be there anyway.

btw those seats are sweet, and the new jcw brakes look awesome w/the drilled/slotted rotors.

 

I think I read somewhere, perhaps on the new GP groupie forum, that R56 shares the same lighter M-L rear suspension parts as the GP?

But what I love about the posted pics is that I get to see a CR/B 2007 S for the first time. And i really like it. imagine the driving lite possibilites on that new nose....

 

Yeah... same (or very-very similar) aluminum trailing arms.

Also, same diameter brake discs and caliper disign as the R53 JCW brakes. So, minus the red paint... works brakes?

 

There have been several rumours on Motoringfile.com and edmunds about potential JCW R56 ouput. The current information says that JCW has 230bhp as a 'goal' output for the new car. I think this is about right (competative with direct rivals such as VW GTI, Civic SI, etc)...

The real question is weather or not BMW's M-group is actually doing the tuning! John Cooper Works has closed it's doors and is no longer directly tied to the MINI, I think, because BMW bought the name from them...

This brings up an interesting possibility (first mentioned by motoringfile readers at some point) of a M-MINI... something closer in spirit to an M3, where it is a seperate model, with body work, engine tuning, interior upgrades etc... If this were true, I'm sure it would be the fastest (and most expensive!) MINI to date!

I'm keen to see what they come out with!.

RM2k5

 

M-Mini. Hmm... Renault did this with Le Car. A BMW 6 behind the seats driving the rear wheels?

 

Is any debate concerning the R56 JCW (GP?) and R53 JCW GP kind of like comparing the current M3 with the original M3? Maybe the 333hp thing they have now is more, but the original is still great.

 

You need to have another drink of the magic Kool-Aid......this time - swallow.

 

I really like those rims and the aero kit!

 

The aero kit makes it look better on the outside, but does nothing for the inside.

 

I think I'm in love, and I also think I should've waited on ordering my '06 cabrio :(

 

Google the R5 Turbo 2. Not a 6. Not a BMW. It's pure Renault. 1.4L 4 with Turbo. That car is the spiritual grandfather to the R56. Please respect your elders!
-kARL

 

buy another MINI so your '06 Cabrio wont be lonely

 

I first saw that wing in the dealer at the parts counter and I have to say both my wife and I thought it looked FANTASTIC!

Aero kit does great job on front and back. Mini just got several notches more butch.

New JCW seats get rid of the Fisher Price looking headrests. The Lounge Leather in Red is awesome looking otherwise.

-kARL

 

I know very well what powers the R5 T2, having driven one and drooled over a couple. I meant that maybe BMW could take a queue from this car and put a Bavarian 6 behind the seats of a MINI, driving the rear wheels.

The R5 T2 is the "spiritual grandfather" to the R56?! That is really stretching it... Mid-engine? Uh, no. RWD? Nope. French? Well, sort of.

 

The thing that most matters to me is if the seats, wheels, and brakes are retrofittable.

 

Oh, I would give my right #@& for it. If the looks equals performance, they would not be able to make enought of them. Now, I am not a speed freak, by any imagintion, but that is an exception.................

 

cuz yall seem to be diggin on it...

 

I loved this car. Rear wheel drive and allot of engine in a small package.

Very very cool. Seeing it again just makes me want one all over again.

Longboard

 

Sorry XAlfa, I misunderstood your brief ode to R5.

I don't think Spiritual Grandfather is too much of a stretch. Here's why.

Austin could have done something radical like that in the 40+ years that they were making Minis, but they didn't. Of course the Cooper and Cooper S were world beaters and still continue to amaze Historics crowds as they dice with Vettes, but it was always an understated car that was never trying to look the part.

The R5 Turbo GT was a production 1.4 Turbo which built on an otherwise economic car (read Mini One vs. Cooper S). Not a racing icon, but still a car without peer.

Then there's the Turbo 2. There was no other hot hatch that looks like it's going to take a bite out of your Taurus if you don't move out of the hammer lane, until Mini brought back the Cooper S and folks started putting body kits on them. So yes, I stick by the fact that the R56 with an Aero kit owes much to the Turbo 2.

I'd love to see an R60 with longitudinally mounted mid-engine sub 2.0 L turbo,
but it wouldn't necessarily outperfom an R56. When Alpine stretched the Turbo 2 1.4 L Turbo to 175, 185, and 195 HP for road cars that was unprecidented. The question is what could BMW do with the R56 engine to give it a reliable extra 45% power. And if they did it in Turbo 2 layout, would the better polar moment and RWD make the car an exotic when compared to a JCW FWD or a GP?

Of course, you're right that BMW could try to wedge a 3.0 twin turbo (a la 335) into the R56, but what would they do for a transaxle? BMW doesnt' do FWD, and even so the Turbo 2 used a longitudinal mount. Maybe the transaxle from an IX or X3/x5? If they built it, I'd be a little depressed, because I'd be driving my R56 with Aero kit and wondering how many banks I'd need to rob to upgrade to that mid-mount.

 

Still don't understand why the R5 T2 is the Spiritual Grandfather to the R56 and not the R53. But anywho...

Here is what you need:

R56
- AWD
- 250hp
- Uprated brakes and suspension
- Alum (or CF) bonnet, roof and boot
- Stripped interior sans stereo, AC, sound insulation, etc
- Aggressively flared alum fenders with 235 rubber

 

Hmmm, maybe an R56 "GP"?