1. Five of the best special Minis
2. Mini XXL
3. Mini USA/FTR Dragster
4. Mini Cooper S with John Cooper Works GP Kit
5. Mini Cooper Cabriolet Sidewalk
6. Cooper S Rallye Monte Carlo/MC40

Its name take about the same time to say as that dragster takes to run the quarter mile, but the ‘Mini Cooper S with John Cooper Works GP Kit’ is Mini’s fastest road car. Let’s just refer to it as the Cooper S GP, as its handful of owners might. It’s not short on power the GP, with 218bhp due to modified intercoolers and some alterations to the supercharger. Further increasing the performance is a 40kg drop in weight – largely as a result of Mini binning the rear seats and some of the sound deadening.

So it’s a noisy impractical Mini then? Well, yes. But who wants practicality and refinement when the drive is as involving and focused as this. The GP has had a chassis workout too, and it’s a hoot to drive. What’s more it looks absolutely sensational, with GP-only styling revisions and build number on the roof. Only 2,000 were made, and if you want one it’s unlikely you’ll find anyone prepared to part with theirs – it’s that good.

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