GP: Long Term Review
Posted: 2nd April 2009Built: Bertone, Italy
New Price: £22,000
Build Year: 2006
Engine: 1.6l Supercharged
Output: 218bhp+
0-60mph: 6.5secs
Top Speed: 149mph
Torque: 270Nm
Wheels: 18” JCW GP
Tyres: Dunlop Sport 01 Runflats
Brakes: JCW 294mm x 259mm
Traction Control: DSC
Seats: 2
Suspension: JCW Suspension
Miles Driven: 5,500 (approx)
Mods: Alta Air Intake System V2
Now that I've driven the GP over 5,000 miles in less than 4 months it's time to find out if it has lived up to expectations and the bigger question of if I miss the R56?
Lets start with the 'bad' stuff - the GP was built in Italy by a company that went bust not long after being given the final boost of building this unique car by BMW. As a result build quality was up to typical 'relaxed' Italian standards, I jokingly imagine GiusePpe being hammered together by Mario & Luigi. GiusePpe has various rattles that are impossible to locate, one very similar to the sunroof rattle I experienced in the R56 but last time I checked the GP didn't have a sunroof! The storage compartment lock was broken when I picked up the GP and after the first fix by the dealership it instantly broke again. Since the last fix I've taken care of it and not tried opening it too often as it's bound to break again, the lock is useless and purely to keep the compartment lid from bouncing up and down. Also a common issue with the GP occurred in the exhaust blowing shortly after passing 10,000 miles.
After my first review of the GP I have installed the Alta Air Intake System V2 which draws cold air in from the front of the car and the vent in front of the windscreen, the standard JCW airbox does the same thing but only above 4,500rpm when a flap opens to allow more air in. The Alta intake is a foam filter which, due to it's design, makes the supercharger sound around 5 times louder than the JCW airbox as well as the sound of the filter sucking in the cold air. All in all it's a great piece of kit which claims to add around 10bhp, I believe that claim to be true but the increase in sound level is what really puts a smile on your face. Unlocking the sound of the supercharger is a much nicer experience than unlocking the sounds of the turbo on the R56 in my view.
So am I missing the comforts of the R56 over the rawness of the GP? In a word - no. Of course the GP doesn't have the gadgets of the R56 or the ability to cart around more than one of your friends at a time but somehow that doesn't matter. The GP is a pure, dedicated performance car which has just enough gadgets to keep you from moaning - along with enough smiles per mile that you won't be worrying about the lack of rear wiper! Also in terms of ride comfort there is oddly little difference between the GP's JCW suspension and sports suspension on the R56, even though the R56 suspension was designed for runflats whereas the R53 suspensions weren't.
Time to talk performance. Having driven both the R56 w/JCW Stage 1 Kit & R53 JCW GP for several thousand miles, on & off the track, I can safely say these are both very fast cars which go about delivering their power in very different ways. Both MINIs manage to achieve huge speeds with what feels like little to no effort, the GP just having the edge in terms of acceleration. While the R56 throws out a beautiful exhaust note under hard acceleration, the GP screams with it's intoxicating supercharger whine.
Perhaps the biggest difference between the two generations is steering feel, this is where the R53 shines slightly brighter than the R56. This means that, along with the JCW suspension, the GP inspires more confidence during cornering than can be achieved in the R56 with the no cost option sports suspension. That's not to say the GP is faster in corners, simply that you will carry more speed because you can feel exactly how the car is going to act. However, having said that, you'll soon learn how to find that confidence in the R56 it just takes slightly longer to find it's limits due to a slight lack of feedback through the wheel. This compromise is well worth while at low speeds when the R56 steering gets lighter and therefore easier to move while the R53 continues to require a few more muscles to get into that parking space.
In my previous review of the GP I avoided the question of which is the better car as both have their strengths and weaknesses and it depends much on what you are looking for but both MINIs offer thrills in bags and continue to lead the way in hot hatches despite some impressive competition. Question avoided again but on a personal level while following two R56s through the French/Swiss Alps I had no doubt I'd made the right choice for me and also no doubt that they felt exactly the same about their MINIs which is exactly how it should be - both models impress equally.
So what next for GiusePpe? Well the GP was designed to be a road legal version of the MINI Challenge racers while still making it an easy car to live with day to day, car companies are only allowed to take things so far on a production car while individuals can take things a little further. Lets just say that when money allows GiusePpe will be getting even closer to it's MINI Challenge routes. - David B