Top Gear extols the virtues of the original MINI GP and awards it the title "Bargain Hero":
Hot hatch specials are all the rage nowadays. Fast Golfs, Meganes and Abarths are only too happy to bin the non-essentials – like back seats – in the hunt for speed, precision and trackday paddock kudos.
Beating VW, Renault and Fiat to it, though, was Mini, with the Cooper S Works GP. Limited to 2,000 cars, with around 450 coming to the UK, it was pieced together by Italian coachbuilder Bertone for maximum speciality.
It cost £22,000 new, but nowadays you can pick one up for less than half that. Read on to see if that’s a good idea…
