The myriad challenges of engineering a performance car to work well on British B-roads are well documented. Lumpy, cambered and often crowned from the centre, they require suppleness and body control in confounding measure. It was therefore only half surprising to discover that Mini’s third-gen GP - a 306hp car that’s unashamedly honed for track work - feels a little out of its depth on country lanes. The front-driver proved fast, grippy and responsive last; but unable to settle on the mean streets of West Sussex.
Consequently, the timing of Sport Auto’s latest onboard video couldn’t be better. The B48-powered two-seater in question is shod with Mini’s optional Hankook semi slicks, and of course features Christian Gebhardt, who knows 'ring's 170 corners as well as anyone. It’s a mighty impressive performance, too – anyone who’s ever slapped semi slicks onto a road car will know how much more lateral energy they force through the chassis, making the absence of body roll a testament to Mini's extra development work. Where it feels jiggly and flustered during semi-fast progress on British roads, in Germany it delivers the flat-out composure which we only experienced in glimpses.
As the footage shows, the GP 3 looks to be a very handy thing on track, and that was very much its purpose. Let's hope some of the 575 UK-bound GPs get to prove as much to their owners later this year...
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