I picked up a nearly brand new M7 heat shield today for a great price. The seller let me check out his rare and very nice MINI's. I took a few cell phone pics. One is a 2006 GP the other is a 2010 JCW WC50. Not sure which one I like better. They were both awesome cars. It was great talking to you Gary. Sweet car! Hope you dont mind if I post some pics.

My new heat shield. Pretty boring but my scoop is warped and my ugly OEM heat shield is now hidden.




The WC50






and the GP

 

Kool cars! I still have my GP and don't think I will ever let it slip into another persons hands. They are just amazing cars!

As much as I like the looks etc. of the WC50, it just isn't as "special" as the GP. I hope MINI makes a car to match the uniqueness of the GP in the R56 body and powertrain!

Congrats on the heat shield deal too!

 

The GP is the ultimate BMW MINI. Nothing has ever come close. It just needs to be dropped a little bit on some coilovers though

 

ugh i want a GP so bad....

 

I sat in the GP and it felt great. It also had the MINI Madness Exhaust and it sounded great. I think it only had 7k miles on it. I'm new to the MINI world so I'm not too familiar with the GP. I guess I will read up on it tonight.

 

Nice...yea I've found a decent number for sale with REALLY low miles. One out in LA even has extended warranty on it till 2012

They hold their value like crazy though. $$$

If I get one, I'd never sell it.

 

I love the GP. The few that I saw working at a MINI dealer were oh so pretty. However, it did make me sad that these cars weren't garage queens and Colorado winters had taken their toll on them.

 

Did you install heat shield yourself? And how long did it take to install? (Sweet pics!)

 

The heat sheild takes 5 min to install. Take out 2 bolts that hold the heat sheild around the turbo then place the M7 sheild on top and screw in two supplied bolts. Thats it.

 

Hey Gmann,

Just wondering, since you own both, what do you prefer?

 

I put my heat shield on 10 min after I left your house. Works great and hides my ugly OEM shield that had to be cut for the new downpipe. t was great to check out your cars. I love both but something about the GP I really like. After sitting in it I liked it even more.

 

the WC 50 is my daily driver, it is fast, has all the amenities and more brakes than you need, BUT the GP is by far the better car. It, the GP, feels more solid, steering is tight and you feel the road better, the shifter feels better, no looseness in the neutral gate and shifts are firm. The clutch also has a great feel to it compared to the WC 50 which has almost no feel(pedal pressure) to it. Gas mileage is a little better with the turbo 2-3 mpg. Finally I have had no issues or rattles with the GP on the other hand the WC 50 has a small buzz/rattle somewhere and have a noise issue coming from the engine(may be timing chain tensioner). All in all love em both but the GP is better built.

 

i wan both cars so bad