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Mini John Cooper Works GP spied with wide body, big wing

The Mini John Cooper Works GP was just announced to have over 300 horsepower, and we got an early glimpse at it with teaser images. And now one of our spy photographers caught the car with very thin camouflage. The spy photos reveal that the Mini GP is sticking fairly close to the Frankfurt concept, but toning everything down a bit. At the front, the Mini GP clearly is using the current John Cooper Works hardtop front bumper, but it does have deep chin spoiler additions that allude to the GP concept's massive splitter. The grille has been revised, and the gloss black lower sections are now made of a matte black mesh design. The slot in the middle could have red accents on each side like the red stripe on the concept. The front spoiler blends right in to the new extra-wide fender flares. While the fender extensions don't protrude as far as on the concept, they're otherwise very similar in how they sweep backward at the tops and stand away from the body to allow air to flow through. Something else noticeable from the side are the enormous front brakes. The rotors nearly fill up the wheels, and the calipers look really beefy. The five-spoke wheels on this prototype will be replaced by GP-signature four-spoke wheels as revealed by teaser shots. The back of the GP looks about how we would imagine it. The split rear wing is roughly the same shape as the concept's, but a little narrower. The bumper has a big diffuser area that doesn't necessarily look functional, but should at least look cool. The rear exhaust tips look bigger than normal Mini John Cooper Works models. The Mini GP will go into production in 2020. Only 3,000 examples will be built. We suspect the GP will use the same turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine as the BMW X2 35i, which makes 306 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque. Coupled with weight savings, possibly involving a rear seat deletion, and upgraded suspension, and this should be a shockingly fast Mini. Related Video:

Mini goes zany with latest accessories catalog

Driving a Mini is most definitely an individualistic choice - one that not everyone would get on board with. So if you're going to go with such a fashion statement, you might as well give it your own sense of style. That's where Mini's new line of accessories come in.
Available for the new third-gen Mini hardtop, the accessories offer buyers the opportunity to customize their retro hatchback as best they see fit. There are roof graphics, accessory lighting, wheel upgrades and mirror caps (like the cartoonish ones pictured at right) just like you would have found in the parts catalog for previous iterations of the Mini, but now the brand is offering four appearance kits it's calling Mini Design Lines.
The kits are color coordinated in either Vivid Green, Speedwell Blue, John Cooper Works Pro (in black, red and grey) and Essential Black and include everything from the interior trim to exterior graphics. They might not be to everyone's taste, but that kinda strikes us as the point. Scope 'em out in the extensive high-res image gallery above and the details in the press release below.

Next-generation Mini Cooper electric car caught in spy photos

Though the current generation of Mini Hardtop just got a refresh, it seems a new generation is around the corner. That new model appears in the spy photos above, and in electric form no less. At first glance, it doesn't look very different, but there are many small changes that add up to make it distinctly its own. At the front, the headlights appear to be more circular than the slightly ovoid units of the current model. They look as though they wrap a little more around the fenders, too. The grille appears to be enlarged a bit to match the bigger headlights, and the changes give the car even more of a cute, wide-eyed appearance than before. Other interesting things to note are that the hood scoop may be going away, as the one on this car is a fake. The hood cut lines also seem to go through to the wheel arches. Other subtle changes are revealed in profile. The front overhang looks slightly reduced, and the windshield looks more raked. Part of that appears to be because of the base being moved slightly forward. Not only has the windshield become more raked, so has the rear window. It's hidden by the newly added aerodynamic fairings below the rear spoiler. Finally, we can see the chrome, refrigerator-style door grab handles are gone in favor of more flush-fitting handles, and the charging door has changed sides to the left of the car. The back doesn't reveal much unusual, but the taillights have more square-like proportions, and they seem to fit more flushly to the body. There also appear to be some cut lines through the taillight area, so there may be more going on under the camouflage than we can see right now. We also get a small glimpse of the interior. It looks like there's a wide screen across much of the dash. It's in keeping with current car design trends, but is a major departure from the retro-inspired design of past Minis. The prototype we see here looks pretty far along in development. With that in mind, along with recent reports, the new model may be launched in 2023. It will likely be accompanied by gas-powered versions, since 2025 is the cut-off date for the last new gas-powered Mini option, and 2030 is the point where the brand will be fully electric. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.