Advance première
It looks every inch a race contender and it is fitting that Mini has decided to send their new coupé for an advance première appearance to the world’s toughest race circuit. At the 24 hours race on the Nürburgring the competition version of the two-seater Mini will not only be presented to the public but will also be competing on the legendary track through the Eifel forest. The race machine has the engine of the John Cooper Works models, the 1.6 litre with twin-scroll turbo charger, although this has been substantially modified by the engineers at BMW Motorsport. For race action the power has been increased to 250 horsepower and in ‘over-boost’ mode there are 330 Newton metres of torque driving the front wheels. This energy is controlled via a six-stage sequential transmission with a mechanical differential lock. Given that the overall weight of the Mini has been reduced to 965 kilos stunning performance can be expected and it is certain that the coupé’s top speed will be well over 240 kilometres an hour.
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- For onboard security there is a roll bar welded to the chassis, Recaro bucket seats with six-point seat-belts and a ‘head-and-neck-support’ (HANS) system as used in Formula One cars.
Quick and safe
To ensure appropriate driving dynamics the Mini Coupé Endurance has been given racing suspension by KW with variable damping units. The low silhouette of the coupé with its acutely raked windscreen already promises lowered wind resistance. But the aerodynamics are further enhanced with a front spoiler, rear diffuser and a big adjustable spoiler wing at the back. For onboard security there is a roll bar welded to the chassis, Recaro bucket seats with six-point seat-belts and a ‘head-and-neck-support’ (HANS) system as used by Formula One drivers. In addition the Endurance is fitted with race ABS and an optimized DSC. In order to minimize pit-stop time there is an integrated pneumatic pressure lifting mechanism.
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- Mini Motorsport took two examples of the Mini John Cooper Works Endurance to the 24 hours race. The number 146 was in the hands of Hendrik Vieth, Ralf Martin, Jürgen Schmarl and Anja Wassertheurer. The 147 was driven by Fredrik Lestrup, Nico Bastian, Harald Hennes and Maximilian Engert.
Two cars at the start
Mini Motorsport took two examples of the Mini John Cooper Works Endurance to the 24 hours race. The number 146 was in the hands of Hendrik Vieth, Ralf Martin, Jürgen Schmarl and Anja Wassertheurer. The 147 was driven by Fredrik Lestrup, Nico Bastian, Harald Hennes and Maximilian Engert. We’ll let you know how the cars fared in tomorrow’s post.
