MINI celebrates 60 years at the 2019 Monterey Car Week with preview of the MINI John Cooper Works GP and battery electric MINI Cooper SE

On the occasion of the Monterey Car Week and the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the MINI brand celebrates its 60th Anniversary with a preview of both the MINI Cooper SE battery electric along with the highly anticipated upcoming MINI John Cooper Works GP.

In addition MINI will showcase its heritage with a grouping of historic models that include; a US spec 1965 MINI Morris Cooper S in full rally livery, two special edition classic Minis from 2000 that represent the last production run of the classic bodied Mini introduced in 1959, the first generation MINI John Cooper Works from 2006, and a 2009 MINI E, the brand’s first generation EV.

The MINI John Cooper Works GP
The new MINI John Cooper Works GP represents the MINI brand’s top performance end of the spectrum, and is the third generation MINI John Cooper Works hardtop to wear the GP badge. This new model will be produced next year as a MY 2020 and will offer a new high performance engine with MINI TwinPower Turbo Technology that is expected to produce over 300hp.

The MINI John Cooper Works GP will offer model-specific suspension technology sport-tuned with John Cooper Works racing expertise, weight-optimized construction, and specially designed aerodynamic enhancements. The wide-open air intakes, large light alloy wheels, the distinctive design of the front and rear aprons and the striking roof spoiler are its unmistakable features for inspiring performance characteristics

Earlier this year, a prototype of the new MINI John Cooper Works GP undertook a performance demonstration run at the Nürburgring. Using the predecessor GP model as the previous benchmark at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife with a lap time of 8:23 minutes, the prototype of the new MINI John Cooper Works GP went around the legendary “Green Hell” in less than eight minutes – and its testing program is not yet over.

The MINI Cooper SE
The new MINI Cooper SE represents the brand’s next step in electrification and is genuine MINI to the core. Based on the MINI 2-door hardtop, the battery electric MINI Cooper SE will be produced at the MINI plant in Oxford, UK alongside its gasoline powered internal combustion engine counterpart. Production is planned to start in November this year, with this all-electric model to be available as a MY 2020 early next year. Pricing and MPGe rating from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are not currently available and will be announced later this year.

With an electric motor delivering 181 hp and 199 lb-ft of torque, the MINI Cooper SE can quickly acceleration from zero to 62 MPH in 7.3 seconds. Based on the dimentions of the conventional MINI Hardtop 2 Door model, the MINI Cooper SE maintains the famous go-kart handling and fun to drive spirit of MINI thanks to spontaneous power delivery, a low center of gravity, front-wheel drive and wheel slip limiting close to the actuator. The new MINI Cooper SE can charge on a 12-volt socket, a wall-mounted home charger, or public charging stations, including DC fast charging at 50 kW, which allows for 80 percent charge in 35 minutes.

60 Years – Historic MINI Milestones
The story of MINI began in 1957 when the Suez Crisis had sent fuel prices soaring, leading many to start wondering if the large, gas-guzzling vehicles of the day made much sense. Sir Leonard Lord of the Morris Company issued his top engineer, Alec Issigonis, a challenge: design and build a small, fuel-efficient car capable of carrying four adults, within economic reach of just about everyone. The two most important innovations Issigonis came up with were to create more room in the cockpit by pushing the wheels all the way out to the corners and turning the engine sideways giving the car more stability in tight turns and more passenger space on the inside.

It soon became apparent that, while intended to create more passenger room, Issigonis’s numerous layout innovations also helped make the Mini a standout performance car. In 1961, the Mini fell into the hands of British racing legend John Cooper, who dropped in a more powerful engine and bigger brakes, along with a few tuning tweaks to create the Classic Mini Cooper 997. Before long, the Classic Mini was outracing and outlasting the larger, more powerful, automobiles of the day. Visits to the winner’s circle became a regular event as Mini chalked up numerous international race wins – including 3 at the prestigious Monte Carlo rally from 1964 to 1967.
Fast forward to 1999. Over 5 million Classic Minis had found happy homes around the world. Just a few days before the final Classic Mini rolled off the production line, the concept for a new MINI is unveiled at the Paris Auto Show. The distinctive design and personality are immediately recognizable. Shortly after the 2002 relaunch, the MINI Hardtop captured the prestigious 2003 North American Car of the Year Award.

Today, the MINI product lineup has grown to encompass a model range of five unique vehicles – the MINI Hardtop 2 Door, MINI Hardtop 4 Door, MINI Convertible, MINI Clubman and MINI Countryman. The model range includes a number of variants and drive trains, including the performance tuned four-cylinder John Cooper Works available on any MINI model, the Cooper S E plug-in hybrid on the Countryman, and the soon-to-be-launched MINI Cooper SE battery electric variant for the MINI Hardtop 2 Door – the brand’s further expansion into electrification.

Tags: 2019 Monterey Car Week, electric MINI Cooper SE, MINI Cooper SE, MINI John Cooper Works GP
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