Hey all,

I currently have and daily drive a 2015 Corvette Z06. It's awesome and I love it. The only problem is it's not as fun as the 2011 JCW R56 with JCW suspension...etc or 2007 S R56 I had before it. My Corvette is still the fastest/newest Corvette ever made but this will no longer be the case in a few months. I'm looking to sell it before it depreciates even more, bank most of the money, get a Mini for X, drive it for some years and sell it for ~X, eventually get electric Mini if it's cool and performance oriented.

I've been looking at GP1s and GP2s but I have a 2 year old boy I adore and it would be nice to have rear seats. We have a new Tahoe for the winter and general family duty. This Mini will be my DD and my priorities are fun to drive, reliable, looks nice. I'm open to anything other than a classic Mini [because not practical for me] or a new Mini [don't feel like taking another depreciation bath]. It must be manual transmission.

Do I go with a tastefully modded late gen R53? Do I get another R56? Other?

I've been out of the game a little while and only really know the R56. What do you guys say?

Thanks for the help!

Best,
Gene

 

I say 2013 R56 JCW but I'm a little biased

Reasoning:
- Updated, more reliable N18 engine
- Familiar R56 layout
- Last year of R56 = as many kinks in the LCI worked out as possible
- Compared to R53, more creature comforts for DD
- Recaro seat option...but hard to find.

Just my 2 cents.

 

You can get some pretty good deals on a used F56 JCW. I bought mine new, so understand the desire to avoid the depreciation hit. The F56 JCW is a lot of fun and reliability has improved significantly. It's worth consideration.

 

Low mileage used F56. Better than Second gen's unless you like the rattling.

 

06 or 05 R53. I still prefer the R53 even though I love my R58 JCW. They are easy to mod and very reliable even when doing heave mods. But any Mini is better than no Mini
Just my 02 worth

 

I like the R58 JCW but that's because i have one. If you want a cool MINI that feels more connected get a GP1 or a GP2, GP1 are about the most connected to the road MINI you can get.

 

+1

 

R58 and red is the fastest color.

 

+1

 

Thanks for all the replies!

I'll starting to wonder if maybe I only need two seats. There's a high mileage GP1 near me for $14k. hmmm

I hear the R58's are fun but I don't love the general looks. Whether a car is $10 or $10MM I need to love how a car looks.

The used F56 cars don't interest me. They still have a lot of depreciation to give. Additionally a friend of mine is a Mini saleswoman and she says the new cars aren't as fun. I know people say this with every generation but if my goal is fun and cheap an F56 probably isn't the answer.

I'm kind of leaning towards the 05 or 06 R53. Any reason for 06 over 05? If I figure two seats is fine maybe GP1 unless I come across a steal on a GP2...which I've seen lately.

FWIW If anyone is looking for a Z06... [I wouldn't suggest getting rid of a Mini for it]

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1595839342

Thank you everyone!

Best,
Gene