I've always been quite smitten about MINI Coopers... FWD really isnt my cup of tea but MINI's are so much fun to drive. The one I drove many years ago was not even an S and didnt even have the sport suspension. I still enjoyed myself.

As of late I've been toying with idea of selling the S and getting a Cooper S while I let the new car bugs with the 1 series get worked out.

Alta now has a ECU reflash that produces 220WHP or about 264HP. For a 2600lb MINI I'd say thats rockin. I have never encountered torque steer on a vehicle before. Would it be a problem once the car is moving versus a standstill?

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forum...ad.php?t=118006

 

That looks nice. I'm a fan of MINIs.

 

Yeah, when done right they look niice.

 

I've always LOVED the MINI Coopers. On our many trips to the Dragon, I've witnessed them in "action" on the Dragon. They are super capable and many of the owners are like us...true enthusiasts!

I was thinking of a MINI Cooper S as my "new" daily driver when I wanted to replace the ELEMENT...but a lot of my Carolina S2000 buddies flamed me for thinking about it. At any rate, I'm back to just the S2000...I'm waiting for the T-Mobile merger to finalize before buying _another_ car.

Great pics - thanks for sharing!!

 

I'm sure I'll get flamed too but who cares. I would be the one enjoying it behind the wheel. That reflash is at $700 too.

 

I thought the torque steer on the mini was essentially eliminated by the equal length driveshafts, etc - not sure what the extra power would do but it would probably be fine...of course I have no idea but that's my final answer!

 

Looks stunning but that car has some very $$$ options! Optioned out my car and it came out to 25K without sunroof, nav, aero kit, custom interior, expensive wheels, or leather seats (or piping for that matter). It's a very fair price IMO. Only concern is that I test drove a used one and it stank (supercharged version, not turbocharged). Obviously, the condition of used cars depend on how they were treated and maintained but does anyone know how these cars hold up over time? Test drove an '04 S2K and besides the condition of the seats, it felt practically new -- worlds of difference.

For the car you're gonna get the following:
1) Major torque steer when starting to move
2) A car that's not 2600. Yahoo autos lists the car at 2668 lbs. and if you option the car, it's likely to weigh more than that.

From my past experience with torque steer, it's typically just when you are going all out from a stop. Basically, the car just veers in a particular direction and you just have to correct it. I've never driven the MCS at its limits so IDK its handling characteristics.

 

Mini's are a cult thing, just like the S...awesome cars

 

Thanks...

1) I'm sure I would be strong enough to handle it. Plus I would be more fascinated by the midrange than the off the line.

2) Ditch those run-flats and tires for light weight wheels. There ya go!!

 

I love my Mini S. The only issue with it is off the line traction. With DSC off I can spin the fronts as long as I want (or don't want). Hooking up off the line is challenging. Also the DSC in my 2005 is crap...it shuts down power 100% if you get wheel spin off the line, so I pretty much leave it off all the time (unlike the 3 series BMW I had in which it pretty much never interfered with a quick launch).

Still all in all a great car and fun as hell to drift.

Almost forgot torque steer isn't a big deal vs most FWDs, however you will notice a lot of road defects (any ruts from trucks etc cause more tracking than you would otherwise expect), not sure if that is due to lightness of the car, FWD or what but it is something to be aware of.