Laser Love

MINI convert Jake Costin’s idea was to build a GT version of the R56 Cooper S and we’re excited by the results so far!

- Martyn Collins

When you look at Jake Costin’s heavily modified Laser Blue R56 MINI Cooper S, it’s hard to believe that he was one of those purists who couldn’t accept that BMW were making a MINI. “I would never have thought about owning one until I started learning to drive. My driving instructor owned a 2011 R56 Cooper D with all the bells and whistles and it was amazing,” smiles Jake.

Overnight he became a complete MINI convert and after a brief stint with a Fiat Punto, which blew two head gaskets and punched a hole in the gearbox, he finally got his hands on a 2001 51-plate first-generation R50 Cooper, with leather seats, a panoramic sunroof and even a CD player. “It was leagues apart from the Punto, which can only be described as a lunchbox on wheels. The MINI was mega,” he explains.

That Cooper remained ‘mega’ until it met its end by careering into a bush and coming off worst! After this, weeks rolled by while car-less Jake test drove this and that. He knew he wanted another MINI, as the BMW 1-series and Audi A3s weren’t as much fun and just lacked character. Then he caught a glimpse of this Laser Blue Cooper S online, priced up the insurance and to his surprise it proved to be cheaper to insure than its ill fated predecessor! “Within a few days, money had changed hands and I was driving away in this 2007 MINI Cooper S, which was standard apart from a set of Team Dynamic wheels fitted by the previous owner,” says Jake.