Vehicle Description
Vehicle to be offered for Auction sale January 19th - 22nd 2017 at Russo and Steeles 17th Annual Scottsdale Arizona Auction at the Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Please contact us for more information.
A VERY RARE MINI
This pristine example has just 6 kilometers on the odometer. Thats right this car has never seen use on the road or track. Its a time capsule of MINI racing history and is an incredible track weapon. This is one of three Challenge cars in the US and one out of 169 R56 LHD JCW Challenge cars that were produced worldwide. Of that 70 were manufactured in the 2008 MY. Clearly this is one of the most rare MINIs you can own. This particular example is not just brand new but also comes with every spare part imaginable - all still new. In all its likely the most pristine example of an R56 JCW Challenge race car youll ever find.
MINI first introduced their new John Cooper Works CHALLENGE Race Car to the public at the Frankfurt Auto Show in September of 2007. Their Press Release announcing the car can be found here http//www.motoringfile.com/2007/08/21/mini-cooper-jcw-challenge/ While attending the Frankfurt show the original purchaser of this 2008 specially-built racer immediately fell in love with the car and wanted to buy one; but subsequent inquiries revealed that MINI/BMW would not accept a U.S. order for the cars. Fortunately he had a colleague who owned a business in Germany and arrangements were made in November 2007 to purchase two cars from BMW through this business-one for him and one for his friend.
The production car was completed on June 17 2008 at Oxford England; and then it was shipped to BMW Motorsport in Munich for outfitting as a CHALLENGE-spec racer. Paperwork requesting approval for import into the USA was completed by a Georgia company experienced in bringing non USA-spec cars into America for racing use obtaining all the necessary clearances from the EPA. The 2 cars were palletized and loaded board a Lufthansa air cargo jet and landed in San Francisco on September 17 2008. After clearing US Customs this car was trailered to the first owners home in Saratoga CA.
Unfortunately because of health issues the original owner was precluded from participating in track events with the car; and he subsequently offered the car for sale in April of 2009 which is when it was purchased by the current owner with just 6 km on the odometer. This is a 2008 MINI Cooper S R56 model Chili Red with white roof and racing stripes with the JCW engine package 1.6 liter turbo-charged engine 6 speed manual transmission with limited-slip racing differential JCW front and rear bumpers with a special Challenge rear wing and rear undertray. KW adjustable coil over shocks front and rear replace the stock units; and 4 piston Brembo brakes are mounted on the front axles.
The car has 4 on-board air jacks for service and tire changes jack locks for extended up-in-the-air storage are included; an FIA-approved roll cage on-board timing system on-board fire suppression system Schroth 5 point seatbelt restraint system Recaro XL Hans racing shell Sparco quick-release padded steering wheel. The car comes with an additional set of wheels boxed a pressurized air tank and wheel dolly for charging the on-board air jack system wrenches for adjusting the coil over KW shock absorbers a de-fueling hose and electrical switch to remotely activate the fuel pump owners manual and complete documentation of the sale and import process. The car is currently fitted with a Recaro XL Hans-spec. drivers seat and the original Recaro seat and bracket is included. The car is as-delivered from MINI. Fluids have been replaced and a new MINI battery installed; but otherwise it is ready-to-race. The fitted rain tires should be replaced. Approval from the EPA to import the car as a racing vehicle only precludes registration for or use upon a public highway.
