Mini unveils radical John Cooper Works GP Concept

Mini has revealed another concept car ahead of the Frankfurt Motor Show - and the new racing-inspired John Cooper Works GP suggests a high-performance version of the hatchback is in development.

The concept’s “wider body” and “big front air intakes” makes it the “most aggressive version of the Mini” there has ever been, says Auto Express. It also comes with carbon fibre winglets and bodywork, as well as “lightweight 19ins wheels”.

In a bid to improve handling by reducing weight, says the magazine, Mini has “stripped back” the concept’s interior to its “bare essentials”. Only body-hugging bucket seats with five-point harness seatbelts are featured, in keeping with the GP’s race car styling.

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Peter Schwarzenbauer, the company’s chief, said the GP “is all about the unfettered feeling of driving and levels of performance found in motor sport competition”.

“This is driving fun in its purest form,”, he added.

Unlike most concept cars, which often demonstrate a company’s new design ethos and rarely reach production, Autocar says this example could materialise as a limited-edition vehicle in 2019.

But this has yet to be confirmed by the BMW-owned company, which said it could “not confirm whether a series-production model of the GP will be launched in the future. This concept is a design study.”

The GP will appear at the Frankfurt Motor Show next week alongside the company's all-electric hatchback concept, revealed last week.