MINI USA Debuts the 1998 GT Edition

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MINI has officially revealed the 1998 GT Edition, the sixth of eight releases in its Icon Drops calendar, and the car confirms almost everything we told you it would be back in February 2025.

Start with the number. The 1998 GT is built around the F66 Cooper C’s turbocharged 1,998cc engine paired to a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission, with JCW styling, brakes and paddle shifters layered on top. While it’s the same B48 2.0 offered in the Cooper S, like all Cooper Cs it’s been detuned to deliver 161 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque.

This details (which we flagged in our original exclusive on this car), is why the MINI’s GT naming convention (the 1969 1275 GT, the 2020 1499 GT, both named for their engine displacement) all but guaranteed a third GT built around this exact figure. But make no mistake, this Cooper C still makes due with the lower power output from the standard car.

Where we hedged was the name itself. We guessed MINI would round 1,998cc up to “2000 GT” for simplicity, the way a spec sheet might. Instead MINI kept the number precise: 1998 GT. It’s a small thing, but it’s the right choice, and it lines up with how literal the badge has been on both previous cars. Good on MINI for not taking the easy rounding option.

Left: F56 1499 GT. Right: F66 1998 GT

What you actually get

The 1998 GT Edition is a 2 Door, finished exclusively in Midnight Black Metallic on 17-inch JCW Sprint Spoke Black wheels, with JCW front, side and rear winglets doing the aerodynamic talking. Inside, JCW Sport seats in black Vescin with black knit inserts sit behind a heated three-spoke JCW steering wheel with 1998 GT badging, joined by GT-specific floor mats, door sills, key fob covers and aim the center box.

Pricing starts at $36,875, which puts it meaningfully above a standard Cooper C 2 Door and squarely into Cooper S. That’s consistent with how MINI has run this entire campaign: dress a Cooper C or S variant in JCW styling, badge it as something singular, and let the scarcity do the rest of the work. It’s not a bad strategy in our view but if you’re looking for value, look elsewhere.

Where it sits in the calendar

Drop Six follows the Rooftop Edition, and continues a run we mapped out when MINI first named the Icon Drops campaign back in June. Of the eight editions on that calendar, the GT nameplate carries more built-in weight than most, since it’s the only one with a direct three-generation bloodline running from 1969 to now, something we detailed in our full look at what’s coming across the next twelve months.

The 1998 GT is available to reserve now, with two drops left in the Icon Drops calendar before the campaign wraps in early 2027.

The post MINI USA Debuts the 1998 GT Edition appeared first on MotoringFile.

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