July 5, 2006:
More GP press reviews
Here’s some more UK magazine reviews, from Auto Express, and Evo magazine.
Earlier press reviews here and the first – from MINI2 – here.
Continue reading this entry ?
July 4, 2006:
A lack of details
When I first checked online order tracking, the GP ws classified as a BMW vehicle!
But now, the MINI USA website recognizes the GP as “one of its own” – unfortunately, it knows nothing about the car:
The website also claims the car is being shipped from Oxford, England – I suppose you could argue that it is, but via the long route of Italy 
July 3, 2006:
Floor mats and car covers
I’ve received this interesting information from MINI USA – especially surprised but pleased about the floor mats!
… we are providing special edition GP Floor mats to the customers …
… we are going to have a special GP car cover. It might not be available for the launch of the car, as we do not have enough time to develop a cover between the arrival of the first car and the first deliveries. But we will have a special cover …
June 25, 2006:
Who’s doing “the full fandango”?
According to MINI Takes The States tonight, 99 people are signed up to drive the full coast-to-coast MTTS route – that seems like a LOT of people prepared to drive a one-way-trip across the USA!
I can understand that some folks (like me) are picking up a car in Monterey and bringing it back … also there are some MINI USA folks signed up to do the whole drive … and some of the names on the list are duplicates or I know have pulled out … but that still leaves a lot of people … and what about all those folks from California and other west coast cities? Do they drive all the way back again when they reach Connecticut?
Continue reading this entry ?
June 25, 2006:
GP press reviews
(following on from the same Adria Raceway event where Paul Mullett tested and wrote a great review)
Some UK press reviews reported in this MINI2 thread, from News Of The World and MSN Cars – here’s a few words from the more positive MSN write-up:
The funky GP, or to give it its ridiculous full moniker, the ‘Mini Cooper S featuring the John Cooper Works GP Kit’, raises a few eyebrows and will not to be everyone’s taste. Carbon fibre rear wing, comprehensive body kit, the limited edition model number blazoned on the roof and the red door mirrors all shout ‘look at me’.
It all looks very track-day focussed but that’s far from the full story. Certainly it works well on the circuit … The GP turns in instantly and can be made to track accurately from clipping point to apex and out again.
The ‘Mini Cooper S featuring the John Cooper Works GP Kit’ isn’t the raw performance car, the Mini version of a 911GT3, that some had hoped for. Instead it is a more comfortable, more useable compromise but a car that feels rather special for all that.
Continue reading this entry ?