MINI Enthusiast Wins The Right To Buy 2021 John Cooper Works GP #0001

The third-generation 2021 MINI John Cooper Works GP has reached U.S. shores but not all customers who want one will be able to get it.

The MSRP of $44,900 (plus $850 destination and handling) makes it one very expensive city car. Assuming you’re willing to pay that much for a MINI, you’re faced with another hurdle: the total global production run for this model is only 3,000 units.

This is why MINI USA devised a video submission contest from May 4-11 open to all customers with current reservations for the latest limited edition and highest-performing MINI ever built. The winner of the contest would get the very first production MINI John Cooper Works GP #0001. Not for free, they’d still have to pay for it.

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The lucky winner was one dedicated and creative MINI fan from upstate New York, called Nick Tubbs. A longtime MINI owner, enthusiast and vlogger, he secured his GP via a 30.1-second video he uploaded on YouTube.

In the video, he explained why model #0001 should be in his driveway and it’s safe to say he had a lot going for him. Tubbs showed off his MINI wardrobe, MINI mug, MINI ice cubes and, the cherry on top, his two unique MINI cars – a Countryman crossover and a John Cooper Works.

The fact that he runs a MINI enthusiast YouTube channel called The MINI Vlog came in handy too. MINI USA declared Tubbs a winner and invited him to take contact-less delivery of the #0001 third-generation John Cooper Works GP from Mike Peyton, Vice President, MINI of the Americas, at Keeler MINI in Latham, New York. Unsurprisingly, Tubbs made a video about the entire experience and you can watch it after the jump.

As a reminder, the new MINI John Cooper Works GP is the fastest-ever-produced model in the 60-year history of the British brand. It’s powered by a 2.0-liter turbo-four delivering 301 HP (306 PS) and 332 lb-ft (450 Nm) of torque. That’s enough for a 0 to 62 mph (0-100 km/h) sprint of 5.2 seconds and an ungoverned top speed of 165 mph (265 km/h).

The hot hatch has lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife in under eight minutes (7:56.69) which is not a record for front-wheel-drive cars but not bad either.