Check this dude out:

http://tom.kat.free.fr/mini.wmv

i can't believe he endo'd that thing!

Smaller tires in the back sure does make that little machine turn, and of course FWD.

Wonder if Brad's been down in the Middle East doing suspension setups in his spare time?

DAAAAMMMMNNN!

There is no better car for that than a Mini Cooper!

Back in the 70's I had a couple of Mini's They were the auto X champs at that time.

Cool! My son Blair has endo'd my car a few times during AXing without losing too much time also. The Fordahls laugh their asses off at him and his antics....

Not me though, if I spin I am done.

Geoff

Anybody know where that video was shot? My guess is Malaysia or GL.

That was hee larry ous!

The way that car rotates, it has to have some sort of independent braking on the front wheels...

If you look close, you can see that the rear tires are not only smaller, but they are at least twice as narrow as the fronts. So they couldn't have much effect in braking, or offering much traction at all.

Maybe there's no rear brakes at all.

I'm guessing the rear end of the car has been stripped and really lightened up to be flung around so easily.

I bet if we check that driver's family tree, it will show that he is a direct descendant of the Keystone Cops!

Just the opposite - FWD makes it even more impressive. This would be easier with RWD.

Also, with the comments about the independent front braking system and maybe no rear brakes: also just the opposite. It's an independent rear braking system - also known as a parking brake. Lock up the rears to rotate the back end around like that.

Very impressive!

Demick

Could be two rear turning brake handles like they have in sand rails....

After looking at the video again Demick, I think you're probably correct. The rear wheels appear to be locked up on most of the 180 & 360 turns.

I used to keep the parking brake lever "button" held down with duck tape on a 911 for the very same reason.

Looking at the video this time, I wondered, is this the world's smallest autocross course?

differential handbrake/small bald tires - larger front brakes

Cool, 'cause it's a

Real Mini Cooper

Not the fake BMW one.

We gotta get a single cone 360 degree feature in our AX courses! That looked like serious fun.

my 360's are usually accidental

We did have a 360 degree cone in a GGR Autox out at GGF a couple of years back. We called it a 'spin cone'.

It wasn't as much fun as you might think. Maybe on a better surface it would be better - but everyone had trouble getting around it as well as they thought they should - and we tried a lot of different techniques!

Demick

A little oil or lots of water will help immensely

Possibly the worst feature we had in an autox design that I can remember, oh, except for that one Alameda course that was essentially a "sea of cones" that 45% of the people DNF'ed.

That Mini driver rocks!

I wanted one of those cars for a long time. Came close to owning one too. They are a lot harder to procure in the states than a 914.

And now that the BMW version is out I'm sure the classic ones are now pricey.

Even before my Dear, even before!

There was one in the trade express last week and another down the street at a consignment lot here in town.....

The one I almost bought was $4K but the clutch broke when I was test driving and the guy decided, maybe it wasn't a 'suitable' car for me

How many do you want Gwen?


I have a friend that purchased some thru these guys:

http://barnhillminis.com/

Oh my god!! They're so cute!! I'll take ten!

I always wanted one for the bed of my truck. Make a little ramp for it, and have a nice escape pod in case I ever get in trouble!

Jen

Is the Lime One an "S"

How about the forest green one. Is it an S ?

I doubt these would be legal in CA

my uncle helps import these into the US.
he has like 12 of them himslef, barndoors, minivans, a few S's , a moke, and a 1998 old body with SRS airbags and smog equpment . a riot indeed

We (AZPCA) had a 'figure 8' in our course last year (or maybe before that). Basically, it made the 911 guys whine because the 914's have a slightly better turning radius. The 944 guys were even worse. Forget the 928's

My (914) tires were rubbing on the inside front fender. It really wasn't much fun, but that's part of the AX challenge.

Did anyone else notice the terra cotta tile roofs on the buildings. I thought it was Italy or Spain.

Has anyone seen footage of a game, called Autotest, they do in England? They take minis and chop the tops off, then drive them around the tiny roads in a village and it includes turning around, backing into alleys and such. Very challenging for sure, just like an autocross only tougher.

Looks like driving in Canada. Handbrake manouvers in snow are classic for impressing the ladies on the way to highschool.

Where I grew up that is called "Schledovic".

??????, Yes. Exactly.

Sounds like the film the "Italian Job" only convertible. Loved the original!

How is it possible to import and register a classic mini in CA?

Sounds like someone is thinking about a classic Mini for her collection

A Mini camper

Here's my brush with Mini.

A friend got the Mini bug. He bought a genuine 'S' car that was disassembled for restoration. A pickup truck and a large trailer later he had boxes and boxes of Mini parts and a shell in his shop. Took at least a year to complete. He built it up with 5 speed tranny and 12:1 compression (it needed race gas).

He eventually sold it to another friend ($12K?). This friend drove it like mad. I remember riding with him while getting on the freeway. The truck ahead was a little slow so the tailgating began. I swear I was looking straight up to see the underside of the trucks bumper. The thing was way quick, with no body roll. It seemed like it bounced around.

One day a Japanese businessman shows up at his door inquireing about the Mini. His "The car isn't for sale" replies were smothered in cash as the businessman proceeded to count out $100 bill after $100 dollar bill. The businessman drove off, after being STRICTLY instructed to ship the car, and not use California pump gas. 2 hours later the businessman calls back and wants to know why his new car was overheating on the Long Beach freeway. Augh...


Anyway, go here to buy:
http://www.minimania.com/ClassList.cfm

some day...

I'd love a classic Mini racer someday, with little 10" wheels

Not sure it can be imported and registered in CA though, soCA reg cars I'm sure sell for a premium

I bought a 914 first though and I can barely afford that!