We were there for a Mfg. test day and did the F1 garage tour, the museum which was amazing and the original F1 garage tour in addition to taking some laps . The only place we ate at the track was the upstairs facility by the car park / entrance to the track proper . One of the best days of my life and now crossed off the " bucket list "

From what i hear ther estill may be some M7 stickers around






Randy
M7 Tuning

 

I have done a little endurance racing there over the past 20 years.In recent years the ring has become more of circus and is marketed as a family destination.Now when I visit nurburg the only time I spend on the course is when it is closed to the public then in the afternoon I will get a cold six and go to the dirt lot and watch the daytrippers showing off their video game training.

 

Pflanzgarten by any chance ? We watched Schumacher put a outside move on a Mercedes Black on the uphill leaving that corner from that spot.

Randy

 

Yes,I like to park on the right side of the lot then walk along the path to the right where the photographers set up.Always a few rookies with more pedal than skill in that area.

The other area I like to hang is the forest but you need at least a 12 pak for that spot.

 

Here he comes



and there he goes

 

There is one hanging up at Josephs of me in a GT3 just coming out of the foxhole and into the forest with the rotors glowing.

Right where mikey is making the pass I saw a r34 mule go over the barrier then land upsidedown.

 

And it'll be worth barely anything after all that while the GP will hold it's value and be highly sought after for years to come.

 

Like a Ferrari?Maybe to a mini collector.

 

Only a total of 500 JCW''s split between R55/R56/R57 and no 2 specc"ed the same came to the states in 09, any model 09 might be rarer than a gp2.

 

I'm not sure on the highly sought after part . The first wave of R53 GP buyers that bought the car with visions of AC 427 Cobra rewards down the road have pretty much given up on this idea and locally we have many second and third owner GPs running around. The resale price averages a few grand over similar mile aged R 53s and this is for a car that is will be more " exclusive " numbers wise than the R-56 version as they will be making more than twice as many to start with.
As with the first gen GP, buy the car to drive and enjoy a nicely put together package but forget sending the kids to college with the " profit " you will see in the future.

Randy
M7 Tuning

 

Wonder how many of those were hardtops? I'd guess the majority, 350ish. Where did you get that 500 number?

 

Nam or motoringfile

 

I want people to know I cared about the MINI and performance enough to grab a limited edition. I want people who see MINIs all the time to see this one and say, "What is that one?" I'm glad it's flashy. Stealth just isn't my bag, baby.

 

Great stats and all but that's not my point. Anyone could, and can have a JCW of any spec. Not the same for a GP. I don't think you can compare the two. Why did you choose 2009?

 

Perhaps "highly sought after" were the wrong words but comparing a bone stock JCW with an RMW tune to a limited edition car, specifically one that's been anticipated by those who follow MINI's every move is a bit much I think. Profiting from a car like this? No way. Slower depreciation, yes. I agree with your last statement.

 

I like the r53 wheels better than the r56. Mini challenge and the M7 wing looks better in my point of view.

 

I like what I see enough to have asked my dealer for one. Of course I have limits, and $38-40K is probably the ceiling I wouldn't go past. I don't expect any return on my "investment" but I expect a well sorted factory hot rod that will be really fun to drive. I'm not much of a modder, I trade cars too often to make longterm plans for them, and like having a warranty while I do have them.
I do find Randy's observations to be spot on and a little bit humorous. I remember when the GP came out one guy who bragged about the fact that he'd flatbedded it home and was keeping it for its huge future value. All he did was miss out on actually enjoying what was and is a pretty cool R53.

 

I think you would be buying for all the correct reasons . Should be a nice little car to drive. We had a booth at Laguna Seca when the first 50 GP's were released to their new owners . A good portion of them came thru looking for Mini items and I have to say I have never seen a bigger group of non auto enthusiasts . They were looking for coffee cups , key chains and the rest of the usual swag.There was so much talk of investment, rarity or just plain cute !!. Most were " mature " long term BMW owners that were SOLD by their dealers on having one in the garage for fun . Perhaps that is why in CA there always seems to be a GP for sale at a reasonable price. It would be interesting to see of those 50 who still has the car . I find the more current second and third hand owners more into what the car was built for in the first place , driving .

Randy
M7 Tuning

 

Amen to driving. On a much higher scale, there were a total of 64 McLaren F1 road cars built and sold from 1994-1998 for around $1,000,000 new back then. Probably half of them are still with their original owners and some such as Gordon Murray, the car's designer, and Rowan Atkinson AKA Mr. Bean, have put many thousands of miles on them. Jay Leno, Ralph Lauren, and even an anonymous guy in my town who owns #36 also are seen out in the wild with them.
On the other hand, there are two more of them here in Houston that haven't been seen in years, stashed away in a storage lot. And there's one from Japan with only 194 miles on it that's been for sale now since 2007! Allegedly its original owner's asking price is so outrageous that no one's bitten, but the last couple to change hands have been in the $3.8-4.2M range. Of course there's a lot of risk driving your fortune around, but it was so cool recently to see #36 at Coffee and Cars, then see the owner slip into the mid-mounted drivers seat, fire it up, and go home.

 

We have a nice little Sunday Morning show up here in the Valley and had 5 of the new McLarens show up one morning . Jay has also dropped by on occaision in his " old " one . Here is 4 out of five

Randy
M7 tuning

 

Great pic, maxmini. Thanks for sharing!

 

seems like everyone is talking about power for the new GP, what about handling, aren't they suppose to be even better at handling than a regular r56? at least that's what I heard about the r53 one.

 

Although the official info being thrown out is still purposely kind of vague, MINI has said it has newly calibrated JCW suspension that will be standard on this car, and perhaps more importantly the bottom of the car has been sealed up aerodynamically and the with the new diffuser, downforce is supposed to be much more effective. So yes, it should handle better than any factory MINI before it.

 

Any excuse to post McLaren pics is a good one!

 

Okay, so after seeing those MacLaren photos from the Valley, I spent a couple of hours on YouTube and watching Top Gear yesterday. That is one heck of a car. GO Mr BEAN!! And now I know that the Lotus Exige doesn't have a radio, so I can cross it off my bucket list. Must be a great relief to the hubby.

Thanks for the wasted afternoon, it was a lot of fun!