what would you do? My buddy totaled his 04 Mini last month and now is chosing between a new 06 GP or a custom ordered 07 S turbo. I was wondering what you guys would pick. The price is close to the same.
Mario

 

No question whatsoever.

GP, baby!

Can you say, most powerful MINI yet produced? Can you say limited edition? Can you say collector car? Can you say Barret Jackson auction?

 

I love the way you think

 

no:

 

06 06 06 06 06!

 

if you can find a GP go with that, Because the 07's are ugly.

 

The 07 is a substantially better car in every way. In my view, cars are for fun and transportation. They are generally not good investments except in special circumstances, and I'm not sure that the GP is special enough. If you drive it rather than store in a heated garage, you are pretty much undermining any investment value.

If you consider area under the curve (for HP and torque), the new car has more usable power. If more power is essential, it's not difficult to obtain. But, if you really want a faster car, invest your money in driver training. It makes you safer and faster, and can be transferred to every vehicle you drive.

Happy Trails,


Joe

 

Thats what I was thinking, but sometimes it is nice to have the new design and you get to build it online. If it were me I would get the GP because I swore I would never buy the first year model of anything any more. BTW I read the 2008 JCW is going to come with 260hp.
Mario

 

I'd get a GP and I absolutely love the 2007's =P

Only so many made!

 

GP!

 

This isnt a fair comparasion because the two cars are soooo different, but......

The 2007 model is the future, GP is the past. Let's try to move on, people.

 

does your buddy like to mod or does he like to drive what he buys the way he buys it. If he likes to hack cars, get an 07. There's not too much out now but there will be.... If he likes to drive a car out of the box and doesn't want to do anything at all, I'd get the GP. While the later JCW will probably have more power, for now it's vaporware....

Or he could always flip a coin....

Matt

 

Thanks for the input. I am the one debating what to do. I do like to MOD. The post about the Miltek exhaust has me thinking that there is more power in the 07 to be found. I like the GP very much, however I am leaning towards the 07 due to the fact it is one year newer, and is Turbo. I am hoping that with a little ECU tuning, down pipe, exhaust and etc that I will easily surpass the GP in performance( at least straight line ) . I am not interested in collector car status as I only keep my cars 2 years at the most. As far as the looks I disagree. I think with the right lowering and wheels it will look great!

 

Both look fine. Arguably both will circulate a racetrack with about as much zeal... within a few dollars...

Do you need a rear seat? Check the practicality factor as well (though, if you're checking out a Mini, "practicality" isn't as high on your list as some other attributes!)

Personally, I'd get the GP: known entity, and if you're only driving it 2-3 years your retained value will be higher. (collector value trumps plain old good resale). Save the stock parts.

 

Gp!

 

Whoa!.... Mario is back. Sweet. What are you just living vicariously through your friends MINIs, or lack there of...

What is the latest on MarioKart????

FWIW...

I would get the R56. Like you said you keep the cars for a few years and like to MOD. I think the next few years have the potential to be a serious MODfest with the R56... with new and exciting stuff, like it was 2-3 years ago! The GP is the pinnacle for the R53, and it is awesome!... But so are the modded cars that we already have, and we have made them that way. We have spent tons of money and time to get them just right. Many of the cars that we all drive are as good as a GP in ever way... Plus they are ours and unique. Not to say that we have seen the end of exciting mods for the R53, I just think they will be overshadowed by the new, fresh technology.

I think of it like dirtbikes. Think of the loyalty and following that 2 strokes had for the last 20+ years. People did not accept the new 4 strokes and were reluctant to give them a try. Now everybody at the track has a 4 stroke and almost nobody buys a 2 strokes any more. They come out with major new technology for the 2 stroke like electronc controlled power valves, and people dont even notice. We now have major manufacturers completely dropping thier 2 strokes from production and import.
The 4 strokes, like I think the R56 will give us fresh ideas for performance, driving style, mods, etc.. I do believe that the R53 is better looking than an R56 STOCK. But damn have you seen the pics of the R56 with that optional JCW kit on it??? Like Mike says.... you put the right wheels and stance on that baby.... Sh*t, I could put the right Wheels and stance on my company car Taurus and it would look good. OK thats pushing it...

Also, I could never leave a GP stock. I could not deal with the fact that as special as I thought my car is, that there are 2000 other people with the exact same car.. right down to the mirror color.

I cant wait for the day I order my R56. However, I think I am going to wait until 08' and the new JCW! I am already losing sleep over it.....

Call me Mario, I got some new mods in the mail today.

 

GP!

(And drive it like it's stolen)

 

Whats up Jasun? I have been laying low on NAM but I am back on the Mercedes boards. Sometimes I even forget I have a Mini I think it is still 8 weeks away from me driving it home. Oh well, it will give me more time to save of cash when I pick it up.
I will call you tomorrow to see what mods you got now, I remember those days. Are you still at the beach house? I want a tour of it real soon.
Talk to you later.

 

GP. Without question.

 

I like the 07..... I would save my money and add the 260 JCW 08 kit when/if it comes out..... the tq in the 07, while I have not driven it, has to be very nice......

 

Newer does not equal better. The 07's are a step backwards.

The 07's are not anywhere near as good as the 06's. The handling is softer accordning to every review I've read, they're switching to turbos (more heat under the hood and not as smooth), and as previously said, not as good looking. Not to mention new engine with new bugs to work out.

 

Dude Mario tell him the GP is old news.

I would go for a R56, but wait a year and let all the small bugs get worked out like the 2002 MCS had.

2008 JCW
or
2008 MCS and mod the heck out of it

And like you said earlier, what's the rush? More time for you to save up $$$.

 

so you have driven the 07, yes ?

the guy likes to MOD; the handling can easily be fixed to suit ones needs and with a better exhaust & ecu tune the new one should be a great car with lots of torque...

 

Softer isn't nescisarrly worse, but who keeps all the suspension stock anyway? Al rear trailing arms drop a ton of unsprung weight. You CAN have a softer suspensions with equal handling if the unsprung weight is down.

As far as the turbo thing, have you looked at the relative torque curves of the two motors? If you hadn't noticed, the SC on our car is pretty much worthless until 3000 RPMs, and at that point, the new engine has been at max torque for what, 1500 RPMs? Also, while turbo lag is the enemy, you instantly get about 10% better gas mileage by driving the intake compression from the exhaust gasses than from twisting off the crank. And a lot has gone on to make turbo lag less prevelant.

If you want real power, you go turbo. If you want instant go, get a SC. But the distinctions between the two is getting less and less prevelant. Read about the new Roots, TEs are up yet again. Read about the new smaller turbos, variable geometry technology, and the dual scroll, and you'll see that lag is reduced as well. So both technologies are getting better.

So, handling softer. Is it any slower through a figure 8 or a slolom? What about road course lap times? Who cares how it feels (as long as it feels good enough) it's how it works that matters.

Turbos not as smooth? Read about the flat spot and yo-yo? Took years for Mini to work that out on the SC engine. Heat under the hood? Probably yes, but then again, the current car puts soo much gas in the engine that a lot of it seems to burn in the header! That sucker gets toasty, so I think the difference will be less than expected. But really, so what? Can't that hood scoop help there? IT's got to be good for something...

Good looking? Not really objectively quantifialbe, so purley a judgement call.

Seems to me that you just don't like the changes.. But better or worse? Time will tell as the r56 gets worked over. It sure has some compelling technology to work with...

Matt

 

Easy choice for me, however I'm a bit biased. I'm not a fan of the new body style though, no, Sir.