Revisiting the 2020 MINI GP3: Flawed, Fast, and Still Compelling

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The MINI JCW GP is the ultimate expression of MINI’s motorsports roots for the road. A supercar in MINI form, the GP has been the crescendo of each of the previous MINI generations. Recently we reacquainted ourselves with the GP1 (R53) and GP2 (R56), and now it’s time to get back behind the wheel of the most powerful one of them all: the 2020 GP3.

Special thanks to the MotoringFile reader (who wishes to remain anonymous) for lending us his low-mileage GP for the day.

The MINI JCW GP lineage is one defined by extremes. With each generation, MINI has pushed the boundaries of its small car platform to create something purer, rawer, and more singularly focused than any of its other models. But the 2020 JCW GP3, officially known as the F56 GP, presents a more complex case. It’s a car of contradictions: brutal and composed, modern and awkward, fast and sometimes frustrating. And yet, like its predecessors, it’s unforgettable.

So what do you do with a GP3 for a weekend when you live in Chicago? You immediately find a way out of the city—and in our case, head to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

Driving Impressions: Fast, Flawed, and Fun

Let’s start with what defines the GP3: raw performance. With 301 hp and 332 lb-ft of torque, it’s the most powerful production MINI Cooper (the small one) ever made. That power, routed exclusively through the front wheels via an 8-speed Aisin automatic, creates a car that is brutally quick in a straight line-quicker, in fact, than any previous GP by a large margin.

In the real world, it’s not the 0–30 mph that impresses but the mid-range acceleration from 30–60 mph and beyond. It all makes for exhilarating highway on-ramps.

But with that power comes compromise. Torque steer is very real, and while the electronic limited-slip differential does its best to keep things in check, this is a car that demands attention-especially when you’re applying that power out of corners.

If you’re looking for a balanced, pure performance car, keep looking. Any front-wheel-drive car is inherently compromised when it comes to weight distribution and dynamics, but the GP3 takes it to another level. That said, flaws aren’t always bad. Sometimes they help define a car and ultimately endear it to you.

Despite this rawness, it’s also strangely refined. The GP3 rides surprisingly well given its aggressive setup, especially compared to the R56 GP, which had a track-oriented, fully adjustable coil-over suspension. Fun fact: MINI heard from buyers that the R56 GP was too harsh to live with and thus decided to go back to a standard suspension setup nearly identical to the F56 JCW in the GP3.

On paper that might sound controversial. But when it comes to what owners want, it was simply MINI answering their critique-for better or worse. The reality is that the GP3 is not as track-focused as you’d expect. But carving the country roads of Wisconsin, this latest GP is surprisingly comfortable while being fast and planted.

Stopping power is excellent with the four-piston front brakes, and pedal feel is among the best we’ve ever felt in a MINI. While the massive front calipers look identical to those on the F60 JCW Countryman and F54 JCW Clubman, they have one critical difference. Due to expected track use, MINI made the GP3’s calipers from high-strength steel rather than aluminum for better heat dissipation. While they weigh more, MINI felt the trade-off was worth it to reduce brake fade during long track sessions.

Now to the elephant in the room: this was the first GP offered only as an automatic. And not a dual-clutch, mind you-this is an old-school torque-converter Aisin automatic, taken directly from the F60 JCW Countryman and F54 JCW Clubman. It’s not a bad auto. Upshifts are quick, and it will hold gears in manual mode all the way to redline. But if you like engagement and use the lovely 3D-printed metal paddles, you’ll often feel like you’re fighting against it.

The OG MINI GP1 (R53) is the most visceral of them all.

Comparing Generations: GP1, GP2, and GP3

To understand the GP3, it’s essential to look at what came before.

The original 2006 R53 MINI GP (GP1) was analog magic. With 215 hp and a six-speed manual, it was less powerful than its successors but far more visceral. There was no multi-stage traction control, no screens, and very little sound deadening. It felt like a homologation special-because in many ways, it was. Driving it was a sensory overload that demanded engagement and satisfied in ways that none of the other GPs (or MINIs) have since.

That purity made it a cult classic, and in many eyes, still the high watermark. Our recent time behind the wheel only confirmed those memories.

The 2013 MINI GP2 (R56) is the most track focused MINI of all time

The 2013 R56 GP (GP2) amped things up. With 218 hp, a faster-shifting Getrag six-speed manual, and heavily revised suspension geometry, it was built for the track. It even wore Kumho V700 semi-slicks at launch (which came with a disclaimer). It was stiff, loud, and demanding-traits that made it less accessible but arguably the most focused GP of all. We loved it then, but we really love it now.

Then came the GP3, which feels more like a modern interpretation of the GP formula. It’s wider, more stable, and more powerful, but also more insulated. In some ways, it’s the least extreme of the three in driver engagement but the most extreme in straight-line performance and visual presence.

Design: Aggression Embodied

There’s no denying the GP3 makes a statement. Even in rural Wisconsin it drew attention with its massive carbon fiber fenders, aggressive front splitter, and oversized rear wing. The composite wheel arch blades, developed through both design and aerodynamic necessity, split opinion but serve their purpose. The rear wing, a callback to MINI Challenge racers, didn’t add downforce but it did reduce lift-something that MINIs historically struggle with at triple-digit speeds.

Inside, things are more subdued. The GP3 shares much with the standard JCW, save for its lack of rear seats, special digital instrumentation, and numbered dash badge. It feels more premium than either previous GP, but also a bit more conventional.

What the GP3 Gets Right (and Wrong)

The GP3 isn’t trying to be a track-day special in the traditional sense. Instead, it’s a unique type of performance car: a high-speed, limited-edition statement piece that offers a serious performance boost over the regular JCW but stops short of full-blown motorsport pretensions. It’s a car that stuns in a straight line, feels incredibly capable in corners, and offers just enough daily comfort to make it livable.

But for some enthusiasts, especially those who loved the mechanical purity of the R53 or the edge of the R56, it feels like MINI lost something. The lack of a manual is a glaring omission. While DSC can be defeated, you’ll see that light flicker often due to all that torque going through the front wheels. And for all its visual drama, the driving experience can feel curiously filtered.

Legacy and the Future

Viewed in isolation, the GP3 is a riot. It’s a car that defies expectations and embraces its contradictions. It’s also a bridge to a new era-possibly the last ICE-powered GP we’ll ever see. As such, it carries weight, even if it diverges from the hardcore ethos of its predecessors.

Taking the highway back gave us a lot of time to ponder the GP3’s place in MINI’s history. Ultimately, it’s not the perfect GP many had hoped for. But then again, neither were the GP1 or GP2. What matters is that it’s memorable, deeply flawed in ways that make it interesting, and utterly unique in a sea of increasingly sanitized performance cars.

Five years on, MINI has dropped all manuals and even lost shift paddles in many of its models. The cars are faster and even perform better. But like the rest of the industry, they’re also more isolated and, while comfortable, less visceral than before.

With the benefit of time, the GP3 now looks like an interesting point-perhaps even a high point-in MINI’s recent history. Its flaws make it endearing, and they make you, as the driver, have to think about driving just a bit more.

And maybe that’s what being a GP is all about.

2020 MINI JCW GP3 Photo Gallery

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