Racing practicality of a Mini Cooper?

Yes, I know many people think I might be nuts for buying a Mini and tuning it but it is very tempting. From what I hear the car handles extremely well and quickly, the car is extremely lightweight, and is made more or less by BMW which means (probably) that the engine can take take the hp increase.

I am new to the subject so please bare with me. What do you guys think?

The car is the base version - the supercharged version would spike my insurance too much and in truth I can spend less money and more hp by getting a base model and putting a turbo on it.

autocross, my friends dad does it in his mini

Originally posted by 96Hatch
autocross, my friends dad does it in his mini


I am with Bret, Auto-X could be hella fun and the mini might work out pretty good bro, keep us posted :bigthumb:

i should autocross my truck :iceslolan

but yea i dont see much other use for a mini
it is kinda of a stupid car in my opionion

Thanks for the response guys. I am just trying to figure out what kind of car I should get. I am horribly indecisive and the mini reminds me of my VW that sadly I have to part with.

I might just bite the bullet of conformity and get a damned civic (eh...) or pay out the wazzoo for a RSX.


... but the Mini was an idea :rolleyes:

no stay away from the civic
a mini could be used for drag, but i see it more of a autocrosser but it could be a drag car
dont get a civic tho

Funny you mention this. This past weekend when I was down at the track watching the pro import draggers tear it up, and team BRM(sponsored by StreetGlowz) had two highly modded mini's with them. The cars' SOLE purpose were to tow the teams drag Solara's(both in the 6s btw) from the trailer area to the track, and back again after the race. However, the Mini's were INCREDIBLE. Both turbocharged, both with nitrous, both with completely customized paint, and A/V systems. I loved them both, and my friend and I decided to both get Mini's once we start are drag team. They will be our team daily drivers:biggrin::iceslolan:bigthumb:

the problem i have with the new minis is that they became such a fad....everyone must have one....i used to like them since they were rare and kind of a fun car.....but no now its something you must have.....:rolleyes:


sorry but i had to vent.....IMO this new fad destroyed the mini:frown:

Mini is still a pretty expensive car, so I don't see it around TOO much right now... but it is a great car... I would take the old ones though because they seem very cool.. oh.. I know movies are kinda stupid as reference for a car, but you should check out Italian Job... the mini's kick ass in that movie..

for auto-x a mini would be sweet.. but there definitally not for teh 1/4 mile.. i dont think theres even enough room in the engine bay to heavily mod them.

Originally posted by High Octane
for auto-x a mini would be sweet.. but there definitally not for teh 1/4 mile.. i dont think theres even enough room in the engine bay to heavily mod them.

Incorrect...Check out my above post to see that money can change all of that. Turbo's, nitrous, all are possible. And the engine bays weren't modified to the point that the outside fenders had to be widened or flared in any way. While I do suspect there was some internal modding of the bay and supports, it wasn't extremely extensive. My theory is, you can always find SOMEWHERE to cram in a turbo:bigthumb:

Minis aren't that light, they're around 2500lbs, but they do handle very well, especially for a front driver.

If you want a drag car, there are many better choices, but a 13 second Mini is not hard to build, and keep streetable.

Stay the hell away from Civics ;) :icon16:

I wouldn't use the Mini. If you want a small hatchback type car, then (In my humble highly biased opinion) a Yugo would be a very good choice. Apart from being cheap (I picked up a project for $50 a couple days ago) they are lighter than the BMW mini (if you can even consider one of those things "light") and with minor suspension mods very competent in the handling department - there are several competing in the SCCA.
http://www.nhraimport.com/2002/news/images/yugo2.jpg

And you'd be far less likely to hear pick-up lines from other men if you chose a Yugo over the "cute" mini!

Originally posted by 2strokebloke
And you'd be far less likely to hear pick-up lines from other men if you chose a Yugo over the "cute" mini!

Oh dear, you are probably too correct on this one.

For the Mini being a fad, the only dealership in my state opened up less than a month ago and has hardly sold any Mini's. I doubt in the hick town where everyone has a truck, minis will ever become a fad.

To be honest, I am not looking for a 10 second car or even a true racer. I just want enough power so that if I need to - I can pass someone on the turnpike... quickly heh. Nitrous would probably never be considered as it would be a little above my expertise level for a car. Furthermore... I am pretty sure I would kill myself with it.

Alas, I think it would be easier to just buy a RSX...

whats cool about them Mini's is that they have a kick ass advertisement program. So effective!

i think the original Rover Mini would be a better choice :bigthumb:

I'll agree with you there, NSX. I hot lapped my cousin's all-original Mini Cooper MkI at Mid-Ohio once..... SWEET!

But, then again, it was a tricky little car to drive. I think I ground through the gears twice simply because the servos couldn't keep up with my shifts. I'll tell you this, coming onto the front stretch you need to get up through the gears in a hurry and that car just won't let you.

The new Mini Cooper S is a beast of a little car. They jet through the slalom like nobody's business and have a great whistling snarl to the exhaust note. I'd gladly use one as a track car for club racing, since all it would need to absolutely OWN on Ohio's tight, technical road circuits are a set of sticky shaved Hoosier tires.