R53 Mini Cooper S JCW GP revisited – car pictures of the week
In issue 352 of evo we revisit one of the coolest hot hatchbacks of the 2000s. These are our favourite shots
‘A curious piece of trivia: when this original incarnation of the Mini GP launched in 2006, BMW didn’t own the official naming rights to its John Cooper Works suffix. A slice of commission had to be wired back to John Cooper’s family for each of the 2000 examples made. The production itself was completed in Italy by Bertone, reinvigorating a kinship between BMW and the Turin coachbuilder dating back to the 1960s. That was another sliver of profit lost, perhaps helping justify the nice, round £22,000 price tag when new. That was around three grand more than the Cooper S Works below it for a scant few extra bhp and the remarkable omission of rear seats. Remarkable because we’d not yet seen Renault Sport nor Volkswagen do the same.
'The years – and Nordschleife lap battles – that followed the introduction of this first-gen R53 GP made the idea of a two-seat hot hatchback if not normal, then at least familiar. Chisel enough luxury from a quick hatch to make your family want to stay at home and you won’t need accommodation in the back anyway.
‘Cutting weight and improving aero were the two chief aims of the – deep breath – Mini Cooper S with John Cooper Works GP Kit. Let’s agree to simply call it the Mini GP. Its convoluted name was a clear indicator that these didn’t roll off the Oxford production line in the regular fashion. This was an options pack upon an options pack, and a car conceived in Germany before being brought to life in Italy. The pessimist might have decried Mini’s Great British heritage being thrown to the wind, but, with our teacup half full, it was simply a sign of how many folks across Europe revered this small slice of automotive history. The GP idea first formed just three years after modern BMW Mini had started selling cars. Those close to its creation already wanted to carve legends from it.’
The above is an extract from the December 2026 issue of evo where Stephen Dobie sets the scene and gets behind the wheel once more to enjoy its boisterous appeal. Already a cracking hatch in Cooper S trim, the GP took things to another level and this month’s story dives into its development and history as well as reassessing it today as a modern classic and evo icon.
Photographed by ace automotive photographer Jordan Butters, the accompanying images capture the lengths BMW went to in creating the GP, illustrate its infectious performance and once again shine well-earned light on this remarkable slice of hot hatch mastery.
You can buy the December 2026 issue from all leading newsagents and supermarkets, or order your copy from the evo shop and have it delivered to your door.
