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What happen to the good old days when mini's were great race cars. Wining rally's and such? The new r56 would be great for this with its wide stance and light weight cassis. im sure if you stripped all unnecessary weight from the vehicle, had awd, and 300 hp. this car would destroy the cars out there now. It would be great if bmw decided to get back in to rallying, im confident they would win. What do you guys think?
Well, the MINI would be at a disadvantage right now because of its 1.6L engine - all of the WRC cars use 2.0L engines.
But I read that starting in 2013, the FIA may switch over to using turbocharged 1.6L engines for the WRC, so a MINI WRC car could make sense if that happens.
It could happen even earlier, though. In 2010, the FIA is going to start allowing 1.6L non-turbo cars in the WRC, so I think a naturally-aspirated Cooper might qualify.
The engine might not have to be 2.0L, but that's the maximum allowed displacement, so that's what all the cars use, for good reason.
Given that all the WRC teams have equal access to technology and pretty much know all the same "tips and tricks" when it comes to engine tuning, there's no way to build a 1.6L engine that's going to be competitive with 2.0L engines, especially since displacement is one of the primary factors that determines engine torque.
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Last edited by ScottRiqui; 04-28-2009 at 11:49 PM.
The reason being is not engine size or power its cause there is just no one out there that wants to support a MINI team cause they think that "oh its a MINI it doesn't have any power, its small, its weak. If I were in Europe I would totally build a rally spec Mini and race the hell out of.
The reason being is not engine size or power its cause there is just no one out there that wants to support a MINI team cause they think that "oh its a MINI it doesn't have any power, its small, its weak. If I were in Europe I would totally build a rally spec Mini and race the hell out of it.
If you're talking about competing in WRC with a MINI, you'd lose consistently, and spend about $1 million per year doing it.
Now, if BMW decided to make a 2.0L production MINI and sold enough of them to satisfy FIA homologation rules, then they could compete in WRC under the current rules and at least be on equal footing with the other teams, but that's what it would take. Personally, I think they'd be better off waiting until 2013 when WRC starts using turbocharged 1.6L engines. That way, they could compete without having to homologate a separate model.
It's definitely not practical and it'd be impossible to get anything but wheel spin in such a light car and therefore not win any races at the strip or the track, but you got to admit, it's cool.
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09 MCS, 6-speed manual, Sport Package, LSD
