Say Hello To the 302bhp, Auto-Only Mini JCW GP

This concentrated little ball of fury is called the Mini John Cooper Works GP. It’s not the first time that name has been used by the BMW-owned brand, but this time, the GP is a lot more powerful.

While the last one made do with 215bhp, this latest version is good for 302bhp. The 2.0-litre inline-four has been radically overhauled for the increase in power, with new pistons and conrods, a reinforced crankshaft and a reworked turbocharger.

With the newfound thrust, the JCW GP will do 0-62mph in 5.2 seconds, making it the quickest Mini ever. For a front-wheel drive car, that’s astonishing. The top speed, meanwhile, is 164mph.

The 2.0-litre lump’s 332lb ft of torque goes through an eight-speed “model-specific” automatic gearbox (sorry, no manual option here) which has an integrated mechanical limited-slip differential.

To ensure all that extra power is put to good use, the GP has been given bespoke suspension geometry. It sits 10mm lower, the track is wider, and negative camber levels have increased. There’s a new set of springs, which work together with fettled versions of the standard JCW’s dampers.

As we saw from the prototype GP revealed earlier in the year, the dinky hot hatch is wearing all sorts of aero adendum. Most conspicuously, a massive rear wing. The front apron is new too, with its chunky splitter helping reduce lift.

On the subject of bodywork, those bigger front and rear track widths are now neatly covered by some fabulous flared wheel arches. The panels are made from carbonfibre-reinforced plastic which is “recycled from the production of the BMW i3 and the BMW i8” and bonded together with thermoplastic.

The price for all this? Perhaps less than you’d think. It’s £33,895, which is - granted - rather a lot for a Mini, but considering the work that’s gone in, that seems like decent value. It’s also quite exclusive, with only 3000 due to be made and just 575 of those making it to the UK.

Would you?