https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2006-mini-gp-8/ interesting part here: that same #419 sold in May also on BAT https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2006-mini-gp-6/ current owner had it for 4 months and drove 200 miles. Not interested in such a fast turnover car, but maybe somebody else is looking.
Maybe it wasn't his cup of tea. Odd not to hold onto it longer. I would love to get a GP. When I got the helmet it was between it and a GP that was up for sale.
The current owner's name suggests that he/she is a second generation owner. Perhaps he/she bought the generation one on a whim, to see if it stacked up to the later generations, since many of us here in M/A seem to brag up our R53 generation ones. I guess that our first generation GP did not satisfy the whim...
I think I read the reason for selling was he was losing covered garage parking for it and it was too nice to leave outside.
Termiteguy bought it. Wonder what he does for a living... Seller also made a few bucks over his buying price earlier in the year. Not sure I'd pay that much, but if this is a deal right now, then the GP cars are beginning to appreciate.
At the very least I think the 1st gen are holding their value. Not sure how much they will go up, but the magazine "Car" did a write up on hot hatches and it was one of the 4 they selected.
There will always be those willing to pay top money for a moniker but I am not one of them. No my car is not a GP but it handles better, accelerates faster, stops quicker and has more horsepower. Now if the factory would have made the GP so that it matched my performance it would be worth the money but a larger intercooler and tune along with some decals is not worth it. Plus my car is a droptop and I did all the mods myself.
To address the extra heat generated by my 19% pulley ratio I have a Meth/Water Injection system. For street driving it will drop the intake temps by 50 degrees F. The standard OEM S intercooler is pretty good at heat dissipation as I did some logging before I put the Meth/Water in.
here's another GP - 7 owners put 22k miles on #1456. Makes you wonder why such a low mile car changed hands that often. I guess one could have used some BMW software to change that odometer. Given carfax reports more miles as last reading than the car shows... https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2006-mini-copper-s-jcw-gp/
I'm not surprised that it didn't sell. Even with a questionable history @ $13,500 it would have been a gift for that car IMHO. As we all know any car can be fixed.