Mini 1998 GT Edition Gets JCW Brakes And Looks, But It Has Nothing To Do With The '90s

Mini has been rolling out a veritable barrage of special editions of its Cooper hatchback this year, in alignment with its Icon Drops calendar. The sixth of eight planned special edition releases went public today, and it's a bit of a niche one: the Cooper C 1998 GT Edition. This special edition is not intended to commemorate the angsty 1990s, rather it's a successor to the adorable 1969 Mini Cooper 1275 GT and the subsequent 2020 Cooper 1499 GT. This new 1998 GT Edition is named as such because its 2.0-liter turbocharged engine displaces 1998 cc, the same methodology used for the previous GT models.

The Cooper 1998 GT uses the standard Cooper C's engine tuning that produces 161 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque, but it features upgrades from the John Cooper Works including that sportier car's brakes, bodykit and aerodynamic winglets, sport seats, 17-inch black wheels, and heated three-spoke steering wheel with paddle shifters and dedicated badging. The interior has GT-specific floor mats, door sill plates, key fob covers, and a badge on the center console box. On the outside, it's exclusively offered in the two-door bodystyle with Midnight Black Metallic paint and orange decals. In the U.S., the 1998 GT will cost a steep $38,225 including destination, which is $4,075 more expensive than the base price of the more powerful Cooper S two-door.

The original 1275 GT carried a similar ethos to the 21st century revivals, with more driver-focused touches like a standard tachometer and gauges that were mounted in front of the driver. It may have featured an engine that shared displacement with the Cooper S, it did not produce as much power thanks to a single carb and a detuned camshaft. Though some numbers vary, a Mini brochure from 1972 says the original 1275 GT produced 60 bhp, and its larger displacement paired with its longer gears were aimed at making the Mini more suitable for grand touring.

That old model had an available oh-so-seventies paint scheme that was effectively the inverse of the modern Cooper GTs, with a body painted a similar shade of orange to the new cars' decals, and black accents. The 2020 Cooper 1499 GT introduced the combo of the base-engine, black body and orange details, and its numerical designation also represented the base 1.5-liter three-cylinder engine's 1499 cc displacement. Now, the 2026 Cooper 1996 GT continues that theme, and its select additions that should allow it to retain a softer ride than a Cooper S, but inject, or at least project, sporting aspirations. Shame about the price, though.