In the latter part of 2018 we brought you a story of the Mini John Cooper Works GP, and how BMW was preparing the next JCW GP version for production. (You can read that story here) A Mini JCW GP Prototype was shown to the public at the Nurburgring ahead of the 24 hour race taking place there today. Incidentally, BMW pulled a similar stunt when it showed off its X3M and X4M derivatives at the same event last year.

Limited edition

BMW confirmed today that the Mini JCW GP prototype is a precursor to the serial production vehicle, which will go on sale next year. The production run will be limited to 3 000 units. The new Mini JCW GP was joined for its demonstration runs by its two predecessors. Each of those was produced in a small series of 2 000 units per generation.

The Mini JCW GP prototype is undergoing set-up runs on the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife as part of its development process. BMW has a technical centre next door to the circuit which is where many new performance products are housed. BMW says the latest JCW GP is already setting lap times that are almost half a minute below the record set by its predecessor. The predecessor set a lap time of 8 min 23 seconds.

Plenty of power

For a small car the new Mini JCW GP packs a punch. It will deliver more than 220 kW from its four-cylinder turbocharged motor. Large lightweight alloy wheels wrapped in high-performance tyres and model-specific suspension help put that power down.

Even though the car is covered in distinctive camouflage (have you worked it out yet? – Ed) you can see the design of the front and rear aprons and the large roof spoiler, with working aerodynamic properties. Its appearance is somewhat toned down when compared to the concept car that BMW initially showed, which is a pity.