When the microcar, and that’s used in the colloquial sense, boom began happening in the United States in the 2000s it was met with hesitation. The American market had long been spoiled by low fuel cost and sprawling infrastructure which allowed for living in suburbs and commuting, often long distances, to work. Simply put, gas guzzlers and big cars/trucks were a non-issue. However, in Europe gas prices were higher and the population denser around city centers meaning the need and performance of a car often expanded no further than the microcar.
As a result, cars, such as the smart, Fiat 500 and MINI were not understood when they came across the pond. Safety was a concern in such a small car (despite federal safety regulations) as well as the general look and performance of something so, well, foreign. Though just as the U.S. market didn’t understand these cars being a staple in Europe for decades, they also didn’t understand the performance heritage of MINI.
In the late 1960s a Mini Cooper S won the famed Monte Carlo Rally three times and ran World Rally Championship events as recently as 2012. A racing heritage which is carried over into the consumer MINI in the form of the John Cooper Works Editions. Named for the race car builder and tuner responsible for the original Mini Cooper.
The brand looks to continue that performance legacy with the introduction of the MINI John Cooper Works GP Concept at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show. A concept which according to Senior Vice President BMW Group Design, Adrian van Hooydonk, “brings together the full suite of defining MINI design features and showcases them at their sportiest and most exciting. What we’re looking at here is maximum performance, maximum MINI.” It is those MINI design elements which will ultimately make this performance-centric MINI feel less like a car to drive and more like the street legal go-kart it essentially is.
The post MINI John Cooper Works GP Concept Celebrates Racing Heritage appeared first on GAS MONKEY GARAGE | RICHARD RAWLINGS | FAST N LOUD.
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