The GP3 made an appearance at the Goodwood festival of speed, which I saw on YouTube. The interesting thing about the GP is how flat it corners. If that is any indication of reality, then this car will be a fun track car....


I didn’t realize that the camouflage markings are the outline of race tracks around the World. I saw that Lime Rock Park, a track I frequent, is shown on the right rear quarter panel. Go MINI!

 

If you read about the changes for 2020, They Dinamical/Leather seats will now have the gray stripe like on the GP prototype, The black and red seat has been discontinued.

 

Hopefully the GP seats distinguish themselves with a GP logo or the like.
I do like the looks of those seats, thought. The red would go well with my black JCW.

 

The black and red look really nice, so I guess it makes sense, by Mini's logic, that they need to discontinue them.

 

As much as I love the MINI brand, the 3rd gen never really hit home for me. Instead of going F56 JCW I went with FK8 Civic Type R.

Like many of you have said, I'm a little disappointed in the numbers being published about this car, it is supposedly 2020 technology, but it's putting out slower numbers than a 2017 CTR.

Obviously I am going to reserve any further judgement until I drive the car. I feel like the majority of the buyer pool for this car will be collectors, not people who are really out for the absolute best hot hatch.

 

The Type R is a wonderful performing car. Unfortunately it maybe the ugliest thing ever made. The spoilers have spoilers and the fake vent craze was taken to the extreme with Honda.

 

I was also considering the Type R since they are both in the same price range, the Type R being cheaper than a JCW. I couldn't get over the rear spoiler and massive vents. I also dislike the fake rear vents on the JCW.

 

As we now all wait for the final time, to be announced soon, it might helpful for some inexperienced talkies to see the fastest round , driven by VW #1 Test driver B. Leuchter.
The car a upgraded Golf Clubsport S.

Unfortunately he drove next day nearly 5 sec faster, and show that a time of under 7.30 is possible.

To drive such a time its imperative, that the rear has to be sturdy as hell, the Clubsport rear spoiler produces a downforce away from your imagination, and is crucial for high speed cornering, and here I expect something from GP3 indeed.

 

Not in the States. Best we get is 4 doors, nav screen and cruse control. We can up that with the Type R, but with only 288 hp and at 3300 lbs I doubt that it is anything special around the ‘Ring...

We get your point that a FWD car can be made to go quickly around the ‘Ring. But, because it is unobtainium here, you might as well be showing a MINI Challenge race car going around the ring.

 

Not my problem, rather MINI`s they entered the "Nordschleife-Trap" deliberate themselves, like the others with music.......

The time of MINI GP3 is 5 sec over a 2106 Golf GTI Clubsport, that might be unintersting for States, but in Europe they might get problems to sell them. But iam sure they will improve as stated. Still possible to kick out AT / and Climate.

 

I thought, from what others have said here, that the only trap they got themselves into was to be the fastest MINI around the Nordscheife, not the fastest FWD. I think they have done that...

Europe has always had cars that we could not get here in the states and it has been a disappointment. So don’t get me wrong, I do find cars like the VW to be interesting. It is just that my interest is limited, just like it is for being interested in the latest Ferrari. Limited. If I am going to compare cars, I am most interested in comparing those that I have access too.

As for improving the speed of the GP around the ring... Keep the AT, it is faster than the manual.

 

But also give us the option of a manual for those that want it. I find being fun to drive is more important than being the absolute fastest.

 

Absolutely!

Paddle shifters on the track would be great, but around town they would be a drag. A plain AT at that point. Even Porsche has kept the manual for people who like to row through the gears, and they have a great DC tranny.

 

As a Porsche owner I have PDK on my GT3 which is my track car. My manual Porsches are a 930 and 993 and to be honest they are a PITA to drive around Southern California and so they rarely get driven unless it's early in the morning. They have become too valuable to track so they just sit there looking pretty. Outside of the GT cars Porsche sells PDK like 20:1 over manual transmission cars. BMW is almost out of the manual transmission market and I would bet in 3 years the M Division will be DCT only. So many reasons but mainly the stricter MPG laws and waning demand.

Back to the GP, I sure hope they pull a rabbit out of their hat when they debut it, I'm over these camo pictures.

 

Given the number of cars that are sold in this country with AT vs manuals I am not surprised that manufactures are moving away from manuals. And you make a good point about manuals be tough to deal with in certain traffic situations. I am fortunate that I don’t have traffic to deal with and I enjoy rowing through the gears. My note about Porsche was a complement to their willingness to accommodate, at least for now, the small percentage of people who are in my situation. Even MINI appears to be moving away from manuals with the addition of their version of the DCT in some of their cars.

And, yes, lets get the wraps off the GP 3 so we can see what it really looks like...

 

I think there should be certain races "that require a manual trans".....now that would be racing! Nothing like the old days...REALLY! We have two MINI's, an F56 JCW with 6-speed manual, and an R60 Countryman S All4 with Auto trans. Both are great to drive, but sometimes when going up a steep grade in the Countryman I'm confused whether or not to shift into manual mode and use the paddles or just stay "lazy" and let the auto trans do all the work! LOL! When in my JCW there are no such conflicts...the 6 speed Getrag manual is "ready in just about any gear" to go where I point it and as fast or slow as I want without worrying about paddles, or auto trans gear, etc. Long Live the Manual!

 

I have steering wheel paddle shifters on my R58 JCW and I almost never use them. I don't think I've ever used the thing where you move the gear selector over to the left and shift it manually.

 

SVRA runs a race day at Lime Rock Park on Labor Day. No DCT there. ‘66 Vettes, XKEs, Mustangs, Cameros and almost anything else people thought was raceable back in the day. Raw and unencumbered. Great to watch and be around.

 

The GP3 has the autoversion only, as it is too expensive to develop new parts such as driveshafts, clutch, and others ;-) for a possible manual. GP3 is new engine and that rear wing plus 4 ugly wheels. The autobots take the higher torque, LCI JCW Clubman/Countyman also auto therfore.

 

Auto for GP means 50 kgs more at the worst possible place ;-)
Also you need that extra remote to substitute the drop due to addional oilcooler in the coolpack. Instead to kick out climate, what saves MINI something like 800-1000 per car, they have to keep an eye on major customer group, which are certainly not "the few".

Also the comments on laptimes at the Nordschleife. You should accept, that everyone who knows , sees this as the ultimate prove for the performance of a car. The 25 km hilly countryroads with poor autobahn sections reveal the posers by time.

 

This is industry wide, the C8 corvette is only available with the automatic transmission.

 

It's a DCT not a automatic.

I am checking one out on the 2nd, if my wife likes it I will buy one and skip the GP3 and just keep my 2019 JCW which I really like.

I'm just disappointed at how Mini has rolled out the GP3 and the underwhelming presence. Thinks could change but I doubt it.

 

I just sold my JCW. I think the problem with MINI for enthusiasts is that it doesn't stand out. BMW has mellowed out the car and it's just become an ordinary car.It's much better than the first models, but it's been passed up by it's competitors.I enjoyed my JCW, but it just wasn't special or unique. Moderate performance, handling that doesn't stand out (FWD) and the question comes up with most, why buy one.
The GP3 is what the JCW should be, but the current hp race is making that sort of meh. Sorry for being so blunt.

 

My faux pas, I should have said it will not be available with a standard transmission! I am taking a wait and see on the C8, I am content with my current corvette for the time being. And, I am going to give the GP3 a go as well.

 

For me, I find the JCW an interesting compromise. My wife loves riding in it through the twisties. She loves the seats and the secure feeling around corners. The seats aren’t liking me, though, but that isn’t anything new for me with car seats in general. They are much better than the seats in my previous ‘07 S, but nowhere near to being as good as those in my current 2012 S. The JCW’s added weight means that it is no quicker than my MCS, which means a Gen II JCW or GP2 is the MINI to have for a quick “fun” car. But the JCW has plenty of power for passing on back country roads. I enjoy the handling of the JCW and find it similar to my MCS, which has been setup to be a pretty good track car. The ride is better in JCW. Clearly it has become a bit of a BMW-style long distance hauler. For now, I’ll stay as a multi-MINI family and the JCW will be the “cruiser” and the MCS will be a very “comfortable” track car.

Still interested in seeing how the GP3 turns out...