Been noticing this since we have been having cooler weather in Texas but I took the MINI out last night for a spirited drive. I was in 3rd and at 3.5k RPM and power just dropped dead and car stopped acceleration for 3 seconds. Could this be my fuel pump? I don't have any bolt ons or tunes currently running.



Any ideas? =/ Kinda weird that it just cuts the power out at that RPM range.

 

I had similar issues. It started with the power cutting out and progressed to pre-detonation knocking noises. Usually at about 2,750 for me. After may trips to the dealership a timing belt and tensioner change seemed to fix it.