Mini JCW GP (F56) | PH Used Buying Guide
The outgoing GP had huge shoes to fill when it arrived in 2020 - does it do a better job when bought secondhand?
Key considerations
- Available for £30,000
- 2.0-litre inline-four petrol turbo, front-wheel drive
- More than 306hp and 332lb ft, so not slow
- Auto-only, and passive suspension only
- Chassis is a bit disappointing on UK roads
- Very little goes wrong, prices remain firm
Flat out, the first 850cc 34hp ADO15 Mini of 1959 did 72mph. Whether anyone actually ever achieved that speed in one is another matter. If they did, it would have been an ear-busting, nerve-shattering experience in a minimally soundproofed 640kg car screaming along on scooter-sized wheels.
Fast forward now to 2020, a time when you could walk into a Mini showroom and order something that still looked like a Mini, but which had exactly nine times the power of that first 850, only twice the weight, and a top speed nearly 100mph higher.
Obviously there had been similar advances in power and speed across the motoring universe over the last sixty-odd years but the thought of a 164mph Mini still seemed vaguely shocking when the F56 John Cooper Works GP was revealed in 2019. Crowned by a new and larger twin-scroll turbocharger running higher boost pressures, its BMW B48 2.0-litre four put out 74hp and 98lb ft more than the straight JCW, giving power and torque maxima of 306hp and 332lb ft and anointing the GP as the fastest production Mini ever.
A stronger crank, new pistons and conrods and more cooling were specified to assure mechanical integrity under strain. The manual gearbox options available to buyers of other hot Minis were taken off the table for the gen-three GP, which could only be had with a torque converter 8-speed auto.
Like the previous-gen GP2 the new GP had no back seats. Instead, there was a steel crossmember with a rally net. The bar’s main purpose in life was to stop luggage flying around rather than (as it might seem) to stiffen up the bodyshell. There was a proper over-the-engine strut brace for that. Even with a heavier auto box, the GP was up to 70kg lighter than a JCW and although it was not all-wheel drive it did have a Torsen mechanical limited-slip differential.
The GP production plan was to build a quick run of 3,000 cars at the MINI plant in Oxford, with 575 of them to be allocated to the UK market. Although the concept on which it was based was revealed at the 2017 Frankfurt show the road car wasn’t officially premiered until the LA show in November 2019. It went on sale in the UK in May 2020. Most of the used GPs you’ll see for sale will have been registered in that year, with the occasional 2021 car popping up.
In September 2023 the JCW 1to6 Edition was launched. This all-black Mini with a pano roof had the regular 231hp JCW motor and a six-speed manual gearbox, hence the name. Its unique selling points were the gearbox and the 150 limit put on its production. We’re just mentioning that because the 1to6’s price of just under £40k made the GP look like good value at £35,345, which is what it cost new in 2020. That £35,345 was nearly £1,400 more than the price originally announced for the GP in 2019, which even then was getting on for £8k more than the standard John Cooper Works.
Special cars, special prices – but what was the F56 GP actually like when you got into it and gave it laldy? And, following on from that, how much sense would it make to become the buyer of a (presumably hard) used one in 2024? Let’s mull that one over.
SPECIFICATION | MINI JCW GP (F56) (2020-on)
Engine: 1,998cc inline-four turbocharged petrol 16v
Transmission: 8-speed auto, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 306@5,000-6,250rpm
Torque (lb ft): 332@1,750-4,500rpm
0-62mph (secs): 5.2
Top speed (mph): 164
Weight (kg): 1,255
MPG: 38.7
CO2 (g/km): 167
Wheels (in): 8 x 18
Tyres: 225/35
On sale: 2020-21
Price new: £35,345
Price now: £30,000
Note for reference: car weight and power data is hard to pin down with absolute certainty. For consistency, we use the same source for all our guides. We hope the data we use is right more often than it’s wrong. Our advice is to treat it as relative rather than definitive.
ENGINE & GEARBOX
When you’re driving a small car whose power and torque numbers both begin with a 3, you wouldn’t expect to feel shortchanged on performance.
So it was with the GP. Its power-to-weight ratio was 241hp per tonne. From 2,000rpm the response was needle-sharp and the thrunge was mighty, often to the accompaniment of amusing pops and bangs on liftoff. If you were using it as a daily vehicle you probably wouldn’t be the flavour of the month in an even mildly intolerant neighbourhood when you fired it up of a morning.
The B48 dual-VANOS Valvetronic direct injection engine with an aluminium block and head has been around since 2014 when it replaced the N20. It’s been used in many BMWs from the mid-2010s including the F30, G20 and G30, and in that time it has acquired a reputation as a very reliable workhorse with none of the crank bearing or oil solenoid issues that plagued some earlier F56 Cooper S models. From day one it had forged rods and a forged crankshaft. You might get the occasional B48 valve cover oil leak, odd air leaks, or cracks in the plastic oil filter housing at higher mileages. There was a recall in spring 2022 to sort out a problem with a coolant ventilation line but we’re pretty sure this only affected US cars. For the GP’s B48A20T1 version, the engine was given an even stronger crank, bigger main bearings and new lower-compression pistons to prep it for the extra boost.
The Aisin automatic gearbox used in the GP (and elsewhere in the motoring world) wasn’t a dual-clutch unit. That was a pity because what was really needed for the GP was something more in keeping with the engine’s fast and snappy character. The Aisin shifted quickly enough but it never felt all that energised or that bothered about slamming in the gears. The one bit of snappiness you did sometimes get, a harsh downshift into second, wasn’t really the answer. It could well be that this box was chosen not just for its strength (it was rated for over 350lb ft) but also to counter the effects of torque steer, which was quite noticeable on the GP. The similarly-drivetrained JCW Clubman torque-steered too, and that had all-wheel drive.
Maybe this gearbox had to be not only chosen, but softened up still further for the front-wheel drive GP. As it was, even with the dynamic stability control and the LSD working overtime the GP’s front tyres struggled to put power down smoothly. Still, they managed to put enough of it down to give the car a 5.2-second 0-62mph time, which was not to be sniffed at in a front-driver. Like for like, it was 0.9 seconds quicker than the auto version of the 230hp JCW.
On servicing, the intervals were two years/18,000 miles, whichever came first. You could buy a four-year MINI Service Inclusive package from your new Mini dealer for just over £1,100. This covered all oil/air filter/fuel filter/micro filter/plugs/brake fluid service work up to the car’s fifth birthday, or 62,000 miles. Independents should charge around £220 for a minor service and £325 for a major.
CHASSIS
The GP rode 10mm lower than the regular JCW on its McPherson strut front, and multi-link rear. It had 40mm wider tracks at both ends and more aggressive camber settings. Its bigger 18-inch forged wheels were the lightest ever put on a Mini. They wore Hankook rubber in either Evo Z or semi-slick TD formats.
The GP’s suspension towers were more substantial than the JCW’s, it had firmer engine mounts and bushes, and according to MINI’s PR machine it had custom (passive) dampers and springs ‘finely tuned for next-level handling’. After their first drive on typically bumpy British roads, some UK road testers were left wondering what that level was meant to be. Something seemed to have gone wrong somewhere in the chassis tuning. MINI said they got it around the Nordschleife in under 8 minutes, but getting it around the North Circular in under 8 hours could be a less fulfilling experience thanks to the car’s less than pliant suspension, its tendency to tramline, squirming under power and short-travel inability to deal with big potholes other than by dropping hard into them.
The electromechanical steering veered from heavy to light, although in one respect at least – lack of feel – it was constant. There were no steering modes to tweak. The lack of a manual gearbox felt like a blessing when you were using both your hands trying to keep the car on line under power. No adaptive damper option was provided. On the plus side, the grip on smooth roads at least was large and the car felt secure even at top speed. 360mm four-piston front and/330mm single-piston rear brakes (as used on the Clubman and Countryman All4 JCWs) also did a decent job.
Front suspension control arms wear out on ordinary Minis, let alone 300hp+ ones with a stiff setup, so don’t be surprised to hear some knocking from the front of your GP after a time spent on British roads.
BODYWORK
Up front, there was a deeper front bumper with a redesigned splitter and bigger vents. The wheelarch spats that stood proud of the wings were made from carbon fibre offcuts from the BMW i3 and i8 and bore the car’s build number from the GP’s 3,000-strong line. That number also appeared in the Union Jack flag representation painted onto the roof, which was potentially useful info for any pursuing police helicopters.
At the back, you had a new bumper valance surrounding the twin stainless steel endpipes and a ‘go on then, challenge me’ roof spoiler. MINI said that this was more than just a pretty adornment, and that it reduced drag and exerted downforce, although we weren’t able to find any data on how much of either it produced. The fake nose scoop that afflicted all contemporary Minis didn’t add much cred either, which again was a pity because as mentioned earlier the GP did actually have additional cooling. It’s just that none of it came from the nose ‘vent’.
As with the two previous GPs, you could only have this one in grey, specifically Racing Grey with a roof and mirror caps in Melting Silver and the roof spoiler in Racing Grey and Chili Red. Generically, F56 owners might see rubbed paint in the door shut areas, some fading to the plastics, localised clouding in the door mirrors and the odd misted headlight, but these are unlikely to be seen just yet in the relatively recent gen-three GP.
The acoustic insulation material was modified for the GP for extra rort and 3D printing was used quite a bit in the construction of trim and other pieces, like the pedals and the aluminium gearshift paddles which ‘echoed the hexagonal theme from the exterior in the form of filigree breakthroughs’. Answers to that on a postcard, please.
INTERIOR
Alec Issigonis’s interior design for the original ADO15 Mini was very much about function over form. By opening the doors with pieces of string and sliding the windows forward and back rather than winding them down into the door he was able to create door bins that were large enough to accommodate the ingredients of his favourite drink, viz the dry martini (one bottle Vermouth, two of gin).
You can’t do that in new Minis, whose interiors have always veered more towards form, albeit with the adaptation of original Mini features like the big central speedo and the bank of toggle switches. Directly ahead of the GP driver was the same slightly afterthoughtish freestanding digital cluster display shaped like a flu capsule that was also found in the JCW.
You sat usefully low in reasonably supportive GP Sport bucket seats that came in a mix of ‘Dinamica’ fabric and leather. The car’s build number appeared again on the passenger side dash. Regular F56 boot space was 211 litres, an increase of 61 litres over the R56, but of course the lack of seats in the back of the GP boosted that quite substantially.
There have been a few electronics issues with things like the sat nav or the steering wheel horn push, and there might be the odd creak from the dash, but in general the F56 has held up very well for the great majority of owners.
PH VERDICT
The GP has come a long way from the first R53 S Works GP of 2006 that weighed 1,090kg and mustered 215hp and 184lb ft from its supercharged 1.6. The gen-two turbocharged R56 JCW GP of 2013 had the same amount of power as the R53. The torque was up to 206lb ft but the weight was up too, by 70kg to 1,160kg. Even so, the gen-two was a much nicer steer than the gen-one, so there were high hopes for the gen-three which, though inevitably heavier again than its predecessor at 1,255kg, was also far gruntier.
The GP was hyped up as a race car for the road and it did look like it would duff up the other established hatches in the 300hp club like the Civic Type R and the Mégane RS300 Trophy. It was a pity that MINI seemed to place more emphasis on frankly poor lines of PR guff than on the job of properly honing the chassis to match the car’s power and looks. Stripping out the interior by pulling out the back seats and then putting in an auto gearbox seemed like a peculiar move too.
Still, it’s that power and those head-turning looks, combined with its rarity, that are keeping used GP values strong. Sometimes cars attract market interest by acquiring folklorish reputations of being difficult to drive. The GP could well be falling into that category.
At the time of writing (March 2024) there were fewer than a dozen GPs for sale in the UK at prices starting from just over £30,000. The most affordable example on PH Classifieds was this 2020 car with under 13,000 miles on the clock at £30,995.
There was another 2020 car on PH, this time with only 2,000 miles recorded. It was listed as ‘POA’ but was then revealed as ‘sold’ in the ad copy. Here it is anyway.
As a footnote, at the same time as the JCW 1to6 was revealed in September 2023 a big cheese at Mini said that he was working on a gen-four GP. He didn’t say how it was going to be powered, but if rumours of the next JCW being petrol are true it would then seem odd for the GP to be electric. Your guess is as good as, or possibly better than, ours.
I am documenting my ownership in Readers Cars here after recently purchasing one.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Need to get the MoT done on my station car, so borrowed MrsLT’s JCW for a trip into the city last night. It’s been a while since I drove it and had forgotten how much fun it is. The only complaint was that it would be even better with a bit more power… GP seems to address that.
That is some extremely poor writing by someone with minimal experience of old cars and a real lack of life experience.
My first car was an 850 Mini, GKL675D, and I can assure you I drove it everywhere absolutely flat out, foot to the floor and it was great. It would show 90MPH on the long downhill stretch of the M6 past Lancaster university.
Nerve shattering? Really? I suggest you get a day job that involves sitting in an office and not going outside much, it will suit your nervous disposition.
Full snowflake.
For me, if it was a regular JCW, I'd expect the ride to be a bit more plush. For this stripped out, limited-run track special, I'd expect a stiff ride - it's kind of the point
It’s certainly not a car for the masses but it’s right up my street.
It’s just a little something special and unique.
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