It’s hard to believe it’s almost been a full decade since the first generation of the reborn MINI Cooper has passed. Four years ago I made the fateful choice to sell my 2007 Mercedes-Benz C230 Sport for a low mileage 2006 Cooper S. I haven’t looked back. It’s been a fantastic ownership experience and a car that suits my needs quite well. I choose a 2006 Cooper S because it was the final year for the Brasilian sourced Tritec supercharged engine. The first time I got behind the wheel of an R53 Cooper S I was hooked. The engine was punchy, had torque in every gear and, oh, that whine from the blower under the bonnet. In an age where a lot of newer cars seem to just blend together, this little car had serious character.
For the R53’s final year, MINI would introduce a special run of 2000 Cooper S models, with the John Cooper Works package labeled the “GP.†This was a very focused, track ready beast built in Italy by Bertone, sans rear seat with some other weight savings measures and a higher output motor. The sole color choice was Thunder Blue with red door mirror caps, carbon fiber rear wing and unique four-spoke alloys. This Cooper S JCW GP for sale in Miami has done just over 40,000 miles and is ready to tackle any curve you could throw at it.
Click for details: 2006 MINI Cooper S JCW GP on eBay
Year: 2006
Model: Cooper S John Cooper Works GP
Engine: 1.6 liter supercharged inline-4
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Mileage: 40,720 mi
Price: Reserve auction
We are proud to offer this 2006 Mini Cooper GP #1156 of 2000 for sale. This Mini Cooper is a bit special, a road-going evolution of the Cooper S Challenge race cars. Called the GP it’s one of a limited run of 2000. Just 415 were US-bound. Our GP is #1156 out of 2000 with little over 40k miles. Motor is a supercharged 1.6 making 215bhp @ 6250rpm, 184lb ft @ 4600rpm, 6.5sec 0-62mph and top speed of 150mph. This is a 2 seat car, the back seat are factory deleted for weight and handling matters.
Condition is great. No issues. This car has always been maintained at a Mini dealer in Florida. No accidents at all. Car is beautiful and so much fun to drive. Financing is available for this car as well. If you want to know the reserve call me @ 786-708-0930. We can always work a Buy It Now deal with you.
We are a small classic car dealer in South Florida and have been doing great deals since 2006. We only buy and sell cars that we really like. Our service is very personal and we can gladly pick you up from the Miami or Fort Lauderdale airports if needed.
Car is sold as is. We encourage bidders to come and inspect the car. Buyer is responsible for transportation, but we can help with shipping arrangements. A $1000 non-refundable deposit is required through Paypal within 24 hours of auction ending. Balance should be completed within 7 calendar days of auction ending by wire transfer or cash in person. A $199 dealer fee will be added to the final bid. Financing is available to qualified buyers but must be pre-approved before auction ending (some fees may apply).
Good luck!
Of all the R53 Cooper S models, the GP is the one that is bringing the big bucks these days, even if it is slightly compromised in the practicality department. But that’s not really what this particular model is about. For the person that wants the ultimate in R53 performance or is looking for a very honed package to use on the occasional track day, this would be an excellent tool. Unmolested R53 GPs with low miles are pulling solidly in the $15,000 to $20,000. We saw a GP sell for $16,900 back in the summer of 2013. That one had twice the mileage as this example, so I’d expect this example to land somewhere closer to the $20,000 mark.
-Paul
Hello Paul,
This car looks like it would be a total blast to drive on twisty country roads.
How many miles are on your Mini and what problems have you had?
Hi Rene,
I currently have just over 52,000 miles on my Cooper S. The only issue I’ve had is that the power steering lines needed replacement due to hear forming fissures in the lines over time. Common issue with the R53, apparently. Other than that, it has been just regular maintenance.
Paul
I have #0080 of both generations of the MINI GP. Picked mine up as part of a special delivery at MINI takes the States in 2006, and it is about to turn 90k. It has never left me stranded and needed very little work along the way. The clutch was replaced just before the end of the full service period. Didn’t really need it, but I know the dealer well and they changed it anyway. I did spend about 3k making it perfect again after I took delivery of the GP2. The new one is a great car but lacks the soul of the original. I’m already considering replacing the GP2 with another BMW (tough owning 2, 2 seaters as my daily drivers with a wife and child), but I can’t imagine ever selling the original.
Although I’m a couple weeks late to this post, I have to say that GermanCarsForSaleBlog is pretty well in sync with me these days!
Back on Nov 7th, Carter wrote a nice piece on my ’06 B7 S4 Avant that was on e-bay (shortly after another write up he did on Audi Avants – Thanks Carter!) https://germancarsforsaleblog.com/2006-audi-s4-avant-2/
And now this R53 GP coverage….conveniently, I am actively looking for one! R53 Cooper S’s are great fun and there aren’t many modern cars that provide the ‘raw’ sensations of driving a classic little sports car ( with more stock power). I am aware of a couple GP’s that have recently been, or are still for sale, but I’m actually holding out for one that Does have at least some track modifications since that will be its purpose (AutoX and trackdays) and I don’t want to start from scratch with such mods as much fun as that process is. I know that a good percentage of these cars were used this way and I’m not afraid of one that has spent most of its life not being used as a daily driver, that has quality mods, and that was cared for – that is, putting aside on track floggings of course :). I’m guessing there should be in excess of 50 such GP’s in the US – anyone know where one is?? Preferably east coast. There could be a finders fee.
AJ
AJ, thanks for the shout out! Check out this site: http://gpmini.net/
Thanks Carter, I did find that site, the one linked below, and of course e-bay:
http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/gp-talk-2006-169/
I’m generally against announcing a ‘WTB’ as that of course limits price negotiations, but realizing I need to start doing that with my specific requirements. Imagining there’s someone hanging onto one thinking they wouldn’t be able to sell it for a price representing any worthwhile recovery of their ‘investment’ – or so I hope.
Interesting that when I decided to sell the Avant, I had fully planned to replace it with something newer and pricey on that same path (C63, CTS-V). However, I also intended to first go thru the NJ winter with a ‘beater’, so put the R53 ‘S’ on my list as being a possibly fun and readily avail. option (I knew peeps loved them but I had never driven one, and honestly wrote it off because of the FWD). So found an ’05 and after a few weeks of driving it had the epiphany that I needed to change course. I knew that I needed to find a GP and then an A3 or 3series would be the ‘new’ daily driver.
Giving the 1st gen Mini’s such praise doesn’t come lightly from me as I had been involved with auto-crossing modified sports cars for many years and have a Lotus Seven that unfortunately has now been in mid-restoration for a few yrs. In mid 40’s so better get back on track (intended) while I can….
AJ