FIFTY years after the original Mini notched up a hat-trick of victories in the Monte Carlo rally the latest model is getting the racing treatment at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

A concept MINI John Cooper Works GP will be on display at the German auto show continuing the theme set by the 2012 MINI John Cooper Works GP and the MINI Cooper S with John Cooper Works GP Kit released in 2006.

Wider than the current MINI, the latest design study comes with large front and rear aprons, side skirts and a prominent roof spoiler, picked out with red highlights.

A similar treatment makes the multi-spoke alloys stand out, so does wide honeycomb in the grille and air vents.

Plenty of lightweight carbon fibre has been used in the construction to improve the car's power to weight ratio and add to its performance.

Inside, the racing theme carries on with the concept car pared back to the bone with a roll cage joined by little more than a pair of low-mounted bucket seats with five-point belts and an instrument panel that includes a head up display.

Gear changes are done by paddles mounted on the steering wheel but the car has some flashy touches with part-leather upholstery and coloured upholstery finished in a new 3D effect.

The 0059 numbering on the bodywork and on the dash is a nod to birth of the first Mini in 1959.

Back in the 1960s the Mini made its name at the Monte Carlo rally, winning for the first time in 1963 with Paddy Hopkirk and Henry Liddon in a Cooper S.

The domination continued with more victories in 1965 and 1967 and a podium finish in 1968.