The world's irrepressible need for more must be manna from heaven from tuners. Because whatever extraordinary level is reached by the OEMs, someone somewhere always wants it faster. Got a Pista? Novitec will turn up the turbos for 800hp. If a GT2 RS is a bit underwhelming stock, Manthey Racing will make it into a Nurburgring record breaker. And now, just weeks after the fastest, most powerful Mini ever has been launched, a car capable of a verified 8:02 at the Nordschleife no less, Manhart has already made it faster and more powerful again.
Welcome, then, the 350hp Mini, or the Manhart GP3 F350 to give the car its full title. The extra 44hp has come about through fairly predictable methods for a turbo motor - an ECU tweak, a new intercooler and a less restrictive exhaust - though the latter in particular is more notable in the Mini than usual. That's because the fairly muted soundtrack has come in for some criticism in its factory spec, especially given the melodic racket emitted by previous GPs. The Manhart cat-back system, on the other hand, is promising an "even more robust motorsport sound" than standard, thanks to Remus's input. Surely a noise more befitting of the GP's wild aesthetic would be welcomed by owners.
In addition to the 350hp, this Manhart GP3 now produces a burly 391lb ft, which sounds like a challenge for any front-wheel drive hatch. (Bear in mind that even the Ford Focus ST is only churning out 310lb ft, and that's the most in the segment above.) However, Manhart states that the GP3 has "a convincing chassis ex works" and has therefore only fitted AST lowering springs so far; a coilover setup is said to be in development. Given how the Mini is said to behave on the road, we'd recommend keeping two hands firmly on the Manhart F350's steering wheel...
Additional tweaks are pretty clear to see, Manhart redoing the GP3's sole spec choice with a matt black film and - as is customary for the brand - gold accents. The same treatment is applied to the new Manhart wheels, too. Is it better? Is it worse? We'll leave you to decide, though nobody ever bought a Mini GP to blend into the background.
Manhart says that the F350 is a "strictly limited edition", although that's likely dictated by being so few examples of the standard car. And parts are available individually, meaning those after 350hp could forego the black and gold. The performance kit, springs and exhaust add up to €5,766 in the Manhart shop; which isn't cheap, but then neither is the standard model. And this should be just the start, too, with a carbon intake, new downpipes and further engine upgrades in the works. We look forward to seeing what comes next from Manhart's mad Mini - even if it does have to have the gold bits.
1 / 6
![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 4 3"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1 1"%3E%3C/svg%3E)