MINI JCW GP electric racing car starts testing at the Nurburgring

A MINI fan and occasional spy photographer has just sent in the first photo of the MINI JCW GP electric car preparing for a Nurburgring test. At the moment, MINI is currently working on creating a combination of the MINI Cooper SE and the JCW GP, two cars that on their own have immense potential. Coming together, they might just create the best MINI we never thought of.

The idea behind the car is simple: take a MINI Cooper SE, with its 181 horsepower, front-mounted electric motor, add some power and fit it with all of the same chassis, suspension aero bits from the MINI JCW GP, thus creating a MINI Electric GP. As far as specs; range, power and performance; we don’t have any. However, according to our extremely reliable source, this car is happening, is green-lit and is currently under development.

There are still some questions about power and range that we’re eagerly awaiting answers to, however. For instance, is it going to have enough power to actually necessitate GP suspension and chassis upgrades? The MINI Cooper SE is a fun car but it has nowhere near enough power to warrant such a capable setup.

One thing is certain though: The MINI JCW GP electric will spend some time on the track also. Whether being part of some official racing, or simply a weekend track warrior, the hot electric hatch is unlikely to disappoint. With ‘GP’ branding and equipment, you’d expect the new electric hot-hatch to be capable of lapping a track quite well but track duty rapidly depletes battery life. So it’s going to need some more juice if it wants to be a proper GP.

Thankfully, with a chassis and suspension as capable as the GP’s, it could likely handle the added weight of a bigger battery pack without issue. With testing under way, we expect the MINI GP electric to arrive sometimes in late 2021.