The sportiest road-legal MINI ever made, the Cooper JCW GP II, has managed to take a lap of the Nurburgring in 8 minutes and 23 seconds, making it faster than some very serious sports cars such as the Audi RS4, Jaguar XKR or the Lotus Exige S.
The car was only a second slower than the Nissan Skyline GT-R R32 and the Mercedes-Benz C55 AMG, which is quite an impressive performance. This result was achieved a while ago but now MINI has released footage as proof of the hot lap.
As a reminder, the MINI Cooper JCW GP II doesn't have a back seat in order to shave off some pounds, while to differentiate it from the standard JCW version it comes with race-spec brakes and suspension, power upgrades, along with several aero tweaks. The bodykit makes it look more aggressive and it brings a carbon fiber wing sitting above the backlight. Also new are the side skirts, the rear diffuser and the four-spoke wheels.
Regarding the output of the engine, there are no official numbers right now but it will certainly be more powerful than the standard JCW model which has a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine that produces 215 hp (218 PS / 160 kW) and 207 lb-ft (280 Nm) of torque.
MINI previously announced that they plan on making only 2,000 units of this pocket rocket, with sales commencing later on this year at a yet undisclosed price tag.
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MINI Cooper JCW GP II laps the Nurburgring in 8:23 [video]