Mini Oz keen for new JCW GP hot hatch
BY TUNG NGUYEN | 13th Jul 2018
MINI Australia is keen to get its hands on a new hardcore John Cooper Works (JCW) GP hot hatch, if a production version were to materialise after the “design study” concept car was shown at last year’s Frankfurt motor show.
Speaking at the launch of the updated Mini Hatch and Convertible line-ups, BMW Group Australia CEO Marc Werner said the brand is eager to offer a new JCW GP flagship if it were made available, calling the concept “my personal favourite”.
“There are certainly people who have put up their hand, we are all pushing hard in order to make it happen,” he said.
“We’ve seen the GP 1, we’ve seen the GP 2 and I can’t wait to see the GP 3. If the car becomes available, we will push hard for right-hand-drive Australian allocation.”
Mr Werner said the local percentage take-up of high-performance JCW variants, which are available in three-door Hatch, Convertible, Clubman and Countryman models, have outpaced even the M models available under the BMW stable.
“Our John Cooper Works share in the market is one of the strongest in the world,” he said. “On the BMW M side, we’re sitting at seven per cent share of total BMW sales, which is one of the strongest and one of the highest in the world.
“On the JCW side, on the Mini side, it’s even higher than that, it’s double than what we have on the BMW M side, it’s 15 per cent. So this is really fantastic and I believe that there is a little more room to grow as we go forward.”
Under BMW ownership, Mini’s first JCW GP came out in 2006 – based on the first-generation hatchback at the time – with upgrades to performance, aesthetics and the interior, while another version was launched in 2012 based on the second-gen platform.
Only 2000 examples of each iteration were produced globally, with only 30 units of the latter arriving Down Under in 2013.
If Mini’s track record is anything to go by, the current-generation Hatch – which went on sale in 2014 – could get the JCW GP treatment closer to the end of its model lifecycle, with a potential unveiling at next year’s Frankfurt motor show for a 2020 release.
Motivation will likely come from the same 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine that produces 170kW/320Nm in the front-drive Hatch and Convertible, and 170kW/350Nm in the all-paw Countryman and Clubman, but tuned to new heights for the GP.
