The Phoenix, GPR769
A car so mighty, it took three MINIs to make one.
All the good stuff from the Blimey cabrio and GP0769 (together, Locutus), combined on a virgin R52 chassis. Shooting for 350+whp, that can be flogged all day and all night at the track and in the twisties.
Engine / Performance:
- RMW 1.8L stroker motor:
* Engine/head core from GP0769
* Bored and sleeved
* RMW billet stroker crankshaft
* RMW rods and forged pistons
* RMW baffled oil sump pickup
* RMW Stage II Big Valve Head w/27mm exhaust valves
* RMW Dominator high-lift cam - RMW TVS Supercharger Kit (coming soon):
* Harrop TVS 900 supercharger
* RMW billet SC inlet / outlet
* RMW front mount intercooler
* RMW billet intake manifold
* RMW teflon intake manifold gasket
* RMW 8-rib belt system w/ ATI damper and billet AC delete bracket/pulley
* Dual pass radiator - RMW 550cc injectors
- RMW fuel rail w/high pressure FPR and return (coming soon)
- DW Fuel Pump
- Vipec engine management system (coming soon)
- MINI factory ECU from GP0769 (for annual state inspections)
- RMW Axles
- OS Giken LSD w/ OSG fluid
- OS Giken STR Clutch
- Greene Performance Clutch Slave Cylinder
- Pre-facelift long-gear transmission
- Derale deck-mount remote oil cooler with dual fans and thermostat; RMW oil cooler adapter
- Helix Short Shifter
- MINI JCW intake w/AMSoil Nanofilter (flapless)
- RMW long tube header w/Swain Tech White Lightning coating
- Milltek exhaust w/custom mid section, v-band fittings and JCW exhaust tips (from GP0769)
Suspension / Brakes:
- GP rear alloy trailing arms from GP0769
- Greene Performance coilovers w/Swift 8kg/mm front / 9kg/mm rear springs
- Greene Performance Camber/Caster plates
- Hotchkis 25mm rear adjustable sway bar
- Hotchkis front adjustable sway bar
- Whiteline adjustable end links
- Hotchkis upper and lower rear control arms
- Powerflex black LCA bushings
- Vibra-Technics engine mounts
- GTT strut bar
- Detroit Tuned front 16″ BBK w/Cryo treated rotors & custom brake ducts
- 2nd gen MINI rear calipers w/SP Performance rotors
- Castrol SRF brake fluid
- Carbotech XP10 F / XP8 R pads
Exterior:
- Custom Thunder Blue repaint. All factory GP badges, vinyl, bumpers, trim, side skirts, under-body panels; some from GP0769
- Full bonnet, front bumper, skirts and mirrors clear bra
- Aerocatch Xtreme hood latches
- RMW rigid front carbon fiber splitter
- GP2 rear diffuser w/custom brackets and trim
- Custom rear Lexan “duckbill” spoiler
- MiniFini trailer hitch, for towing the track trailer
- Custom rigid rear “tonneau cover” / deck lid
- Custom bikini soft top
- Custom removable hard top (coming soon!)
- Custom height jack points
Interior/Safety:
- Custom 6-point roll cage
- Dash panels, door panels, gauges, pedals, shifter, dash pad from GP0769
- Driver’s seat: OMP HTE-R FIA halo seat, OMP low-rise steel brackets
- Passenger seat (street): OMP Style tuner seat on MINI OEM slider base
- Passenger seat (track): Sabelt Taurus halo seat, Sabelt steel brackets.
- Schroth Hybrid / Profi II harnesses (6pt) w/ASM shoulder straps for 4pt street use
- Dual Euro parcel shelves, modified to fit around roll cage
- JCW leather/carbon/alcantara steering wheel, shift knob and brake handle
- Redline black leather shift and brake boots w/red stitching
- Outmotoring pedal covers
- Custom diamond plate floor mats
- Longacre 17″ convex race mirror
- Helmet hook
- Safecraft Halon fire extinguisher, BK cage mount
- Dash-mounted emergency battery cut-off switch
- Coolshirt 13qt cooler, lines and shirt with custom speed controller
Electronics:
- MINI factory cabrio HK sound system, head unit modified to fit around roll cage knee bar
- Dension bluetooth kit
- Shift paddle cruise control hack (MFSW controls hidden)
- Zeitronics sensor and gauge system with wideband O2, boost, EGT; boost/wideband gauge, digital display unit, data logger
- DepoRacing oil pressure / oil temp / boost gauges
- Auto-Blip
- Craven gauge pods (modified)
- Scan gauge II
- Valentine One
- ProClip and rollcage mounts for iPhone 6+
- Deka ETX20L lightweight battery
Wheels / Tires:
- 949 6UL 15×8 w/Nitto NT-01 225/45R15 (track)
- Kosei K4R 16×7.5 w/Toyo R888 225/45R16(street)
So what makes it a GP?
Well, the chassis certainly doesn’t have a GP VIN. Because they didn’t make any of those in topless form. And you shouldn’t just cut the roof off a tiptop, because the cabrio chassis has extra steel to make it stronger and stiffer.
But it does have quite a bit of content from the original GP0769… As much as I could save:
- Engine and head (built into RMW 1.8l stroker)
- Intercooler (soon to be replaced with RMW FMIC)
- ECU / speedo cluster / tach / EWS (immobilizer module) / keys and lock cylinders
- Transmission bell housing
- Engine/transmission hard mounts
- Assorted hoses, vacuum lines, brackets, and other engine/transmission related hardware
- Alloy rear trailing arms
- Shifter
- Pedals
- Steering column assembly
- Dash trim panels w/GP0769 badge
- Interior door panels and trim
- Dash top pad
-
Brake booster / master cylinder
-
Right side skirt & sill plate
- Black portion of left side skirt
-
Front bumper “splitter” trim
-
Parking lights, side scuttles, corner marker lights
-
JCW badges (F & R)
-
Windshield washer jets
-
Right window
-
L & R Door Mirrors
-
Parking brake & shifter cover trim
-
Cowl grilles
-
Wiper assembly
-
Air intake hose
-
Under body panels
-
JCW exhaust tips
-
Right taillight
-
Boot handle assembly
-
Rubber S floor mats
-
GP carpet floor mats
And the other parts it needed to make it look like a GP (front bumper cover, hood trim, rear bumper inserts, painted left side skirt, mirror caps, badges and vinyl, etc.) were purchased as new OEM parts.