The new Mini John Cooper Works GP is the ultimate modern Mini

That’s because if the first, fleeting impressions from the passenger seat are anything to go by, word is going to spread that the John Cooper Works GP remains a rather special hatchback.

That feeling starts from the moment you first clap eyes on it, in our case in the pitlane at the BMW and Mini West Coast Performance Centre, which is based at the Thermal Raceway about 45 minutes outside of Palm Springs. Like both GPs before it, this one looks like a little tough nut, a cross between a Mini John Cooper Works and a TCR touring car that’s somehow slipped out of the paddock and onto the road.

It has attitude to spare. The back wing is nearly as large as an original Mini, there are the signature GP graphics all over the place and then there’s the real talking point, the wheelarch extensions. These are fashioned from carbon-fibre reinforced plastic of the sort found in the BMW i3, and on the front pair every car will display its production number – a novel and refreshing change from a stuck-on badge by the gearstick that so many special edition cars resort to.

The stance is noticeably different to a JCW hatch, because the GP sits 10mm lower and has a track that’s been widened by 40mm. GP fans may recognise familiar details, such as the design of the alloy wheel, while inside, there are just two seats, with the rear chairs ditched in favour of a bright red body brace.

Wrapped tightly around those 18-inch wheels are 225/35 Hankook Ventus tyres, with a choice of treaded S1 Evo Z rubber or semi-slick TD versions. Which you choose largely depends on how you will use the car and want it to behave. The only other consideration is whether to add a Touring Pack. It adds £2,000 to the car’s £33,895 price, and includes dual zone air-conditioning, heated front seats, Navigation Plus and a wireless charging dock for phones.

I drop into the passenger seat of a GP with the semi-slick tyres. At the wheel is Jürgen Metz, who oversaw chassis development of the new model and also worked on the R56 and original, R53 GP models. 

The acceleration from the 2.0-litre, turbocharged four-cylinder lump is as fast as you’d expect from a 302bhp motor in a three-door hatchback, but the engine remains just a tad characterless and nothing like the first GP’s manic little supercharged 1.6-litre unit. There’s masses of torque right through the rev range (peaking from 1,750rpm and staying to 4,500rpm) and that means speed builds in a predictably linear fashion, without a final rush toward the rev limit. Mini says the GP takes 5.2 seconds to get from 0-62mph, and can continue all the way to its top speed of 164mph. Mini was obviously on holiday when the BMW Group sent round the memo about the 155mph electronic restriction on cars’ maximum speeds.

The overriding impression is of an impressively robust structure with no flex, which in turn allows the steering and suspension to get on with making the GP respond with an urgency you’ll find in few other hot hatchbacks. Body roll is very limited (the passive suspension is no longer adjustable, and there are no selectable driving modes), and the mechanical grip is impressively high – at least it is on the semi-slick Hankooks. 

You have to hope that the return to a mechanical limited-slip differential should deliver an extra layer of involvement to the driving experience compared with the previous GP.

Are there any areas of concern? Well, yes. Surely the most Mini thing to do with a GP would have been to fit it with a manual gearbox, given the eight-speed automatic is far from the best of its kind, even if it has been recalibrated for GP drivers? 

Also, will the brakes be up to the job? They’re borrowed from the Clubman and Cooper JCW, and those weren’t entirely confidence inspiring on test cars we drove at the BMW and Mini West Coast Performance Centre, at Thermal Raceway, so how well the system will handle the lighter GP remains to be seen.

Talking of weight, the GP is only 10kg lighter than a JCW hatch. That’s because of the bracing, larger brakes and changes to the cooling systems, as well as the eight-speed automatic gearbox. 

Where the original, supercharged R53 was a handbuilt special that was assembled by Bertone and finished by Mini dealers, its R56 successor was more sophisticated, a car that you could drive to the Nürburgring for a hot lap or five without regretting the decision the moment you hit the first stretch of motorway. 

If the third-generation car manages to hit the sweet spot somewhere in the middle, it should be a case of job well done. We look forward to finding out.

Mini John Cooper Works GP specification

Price: £33,895 

Engine: 2.0-litre, turbocharged four-cylinder petrol 

Power: 302bhp @ 5,000rpm-6,250rpm  

Torque: 450Nm (332lb ft) @ 1,750rpm-4,500rpm 

Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic, front-wheel-drive

0-62mph: 5.2 seconds

Top speed: 164mph 

Combined economy: TBA 

Kerb weight 1,255kg