Mini has unveiled the 1998 GT Edition, a JCW-styled special based on the entry-level Cooper C that costs more than a Cooper S despite producing less power. The car is the sixth of eight Icon Drops special editions for 2026 and is now available to reserve in the US, with first deliveries due this autumn.
Round here the JCW bodykit on a base Cooper C has been the volume seller for years — it leases well and nobody at the school gate counts the cylinders. Paying S money for the slower one only looks odd on a spec sheet; Nissan and Vauxhall have been shifting tarted-up base models to British buyers on exactly that logic for a decade.