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View Full Version : in 5 years.....the MINI?



airpiraterob
04-10-2003, 10:12 PM
5 years from now, when it becomes eligible, undoubtedly the mini cooper will be proposed to the board. What class will it be in? I'm guessing right off the bat the ITS. fair assessment? any long distance guesses on the outcome of potential? (someone outta really get started with it in SS or something.) i think id rather get one now and 5 years later race it....when its paid for.

LOBSTA1
04-10-2003, 11:30 PM
AIrpiratebob, we saw on at Fontana at the Feb regional it showroom stock it looked really nice!!!

joeg
04-11-2003, 08:54 AM
Could be a bit longer than 5 years with the new SS longevity rules. However, it is a cool car!

TBreu007
04-12-2003, 10:21 PM
Seeing as the regular Cooper is only putting out 115hp and weighs ~2313lbs, I have a hard time believing it will be in ITS. I think ITA or ITB would be more likely.
My girlfriend has a Cooper S with springs and smaller SC pulley (made 180 FWHP)...it would make one heck of an ITS car (if only SC's would be legal)

Knestis
04-12-2003, 11:08 PM
*coughIT2 (http://www.it2.evaluand.com)cough*

Bill Miller
04-13-2003, 08:44 AM
joeg,

That's one of the first things I wondered about w/ the new SS/T longevity rules. Used to be that SS cars only had 5 years on National eligibility, which just so happened to be how long they had to wait to get into IT. My feelings that are if they delay the entry of cars into IT for 10 years, they'll be shooting themselves in the foot.

And as far as where it will land, I don't even want to guess what IT (or Prod for that matter) will look like in 5 years. There's already talk of re-introducing forced induction and AWD into Club Racing. Now, if the current IT trend continues, and they don't create IT2, in 5 years time, I would imagine that the base Mini would probably end up in ITA. ITS will have gotten even faster, and I bet you'll see things like E36 328s and E30 M3s in ITS by then.

On another note, I guess it's just me, because I don't "get it" w/ the new Mini. Yeah, fun car, but more of a novelty car. Kinda like the PT Cruiser. I've heard that the Cooper S is really fast, but I couldn't see buying one.

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MARRS #25 ITB Rabbit GTI
SCCA 279608

airpiraterob
04-14-2003, 01:23 AM
the regular mini yeah youre right....so given the usual IT regulations....
115hp at 2313lbs...
what would the IT equivalent be after the prep?
135hp and umm...would they give it 2200+lbs? it has qonderful handling potential so they will probably make it ITA like an older miata and mabye even make it heavier than that. sounds fun either way....now to go find a flood car to build up cheaply.

tderonne
04-14-2003, 09:23 AM
2300?

It's closer to 2600. The Cooper S is over 2700!

(I've read some wrong numbers. Car and Driver weighs their cars, their Cooper S was over 2700.)

Same weight as a Focus, but 24" shorter in length. Road hugging weight to be sure!

airpiraterob
04-14-2003, 01:03 PM
holy crap...2600? isnt this supposed to be a small car? i had no idea they made small cars now out of depleated uranium. starting to sound more like ITB material. If only suzuki made a supercharged swift.

TBreu007
04-17-2003, 12:49 AM
Originally posted by tderonne:
2300?

It's closer to 2600. The Cooper S is over 2700!

(I've read some wrong numbers. Car and Driver weighs their cars, their Cooper S was over 2700.)

Same weight as a Focus, but 24" shorter in length. Road hugging weight to be sure!




Those were dry weights which were pulled directly from Mini's own brocure...and verified by my girlfriend.
My girlfriend's a Mini NUT! She has about every promotional item Mini makes.

tderonne
04-17-2003, 09:34 AM
Fox...henhouse... yeah I believe the brochure....look further, the right weights were on some documentation I found at the Detroit auto show.

That Renault Guy
04-17-2003, 12:20 PM
Originally posted by Bill Miller:
joeg,

That's one of the first things I wondered about w/ the new SS/T longevity rules. Used to be that SS cars only had 5 years on National eligibility, which just so happened to be how long they had to wait to get into IT. My feelings that are if they delay the entry of cars into IT for 10 years, they'll be shooting themselves in the foot.



The SS eligibility time table has nothing to do with that of the IT classes. The SS time was increased from 5 to 7 years a little while ago and nothing happened to IT.

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Jim Krom
ITC Renault Encore EFSC (Exotic French Sports Car)

tderonne
04-17-2003, 01:51 PM
Mini.com (the official BMW website) shows 2524 for the Cooper and 2678 for the S, "unladen". I've seen slightly heavier actual numbers. Maybe their unladen is dry?