Small But Mighty: The Phenomenon of MINI Racing

We’ve all seen them on the road; every once and a while, a small silhouette with large beaming eyes and a small frame; a smile on the grille. While we’re behind the wheel of our larger, typically more powerful and throaty sedans, we chuckle. Yet we forget that the MINI Cooper has a long and established history; a respected history of competitive motorsport performance. The bottom line? You never know if the person next to you at the light has more under the hood than you assume, and as you put your “four to the floor” –you may end up eating the dust of that lightweight, turbocharged European engineered vehicle – all while it wears the likeness of a large smiley face.

At nearly 170 horsepower, the MINI S is already a powerhouse which is unlike most vehicles of its weight class, and shows a surprising advantage to beating out larger sedans, such as the Volvo S40 (The non T5 Version), which is Volvo’s competitor to the BMW 3-Series. Turbocharged engines coupled with aftermarket accessories – as the racing or motorsport community knows – makes a massive difference in the output of horsepower and torque. With the MINI Racing situation heating up for May in Oxford, the popularity of modifying the MINI during this time of year amps up greatly; dealership accessories and aftermarket demand for BVH, racing cams, superchargers, Headers and particularly Bosch accessories amps up with it.

Amidst the cat-back exhausts, dyna-tuning and even engine-swapping with the MINI’s kin – the BMW Brand, MINI enthusiasts are enjoying a whole new world which coupled with aftermarket gurus such as AC Schnitzer can allow the MINI to achieve tremendous dyno charting of nearly 210 horsepower – given its already blistering zero to sixty time, and low amount of start-off weight, this is absolutely crushing to many sedan drivers with sport packages all over the United States – Civic Coupes and SRT-4 MOPAR brand vehicles, long enjoyed by consumers because of their agile turning and off-the-line pick-up are usually amazed when they end up against one of these vehicles; the enhanced technology in pullies and FMIC allows nearly up to 230 horses to the smiling MINI, and is entirely street legal.  

But all street racing aside, many MINI owners find the aftermarket add-ons to be aesthetically pleasing and have a decreased price tag in comparison to what they’d cost on larger vehicles more geared towards direct street sports. The MINI brand allows its owner to fully customize each vehicle, and this doesn’t stop once the car has been purchased.

So for all of you MINI fanatics out there looking for a summer project, time to do a little shopping. Your car will be happy.