Mini's have definitely competed in "saloon car" races, but that name is a catch-all that includes both qualifying saloons and coupes (like the Mini). Note this text from some race literature:

"The TOYO Tyres Modified Production Saloon Championship is for competitors participating in Saloon and Coupe type vehicles. This Championship is aimed at 'Production Vehicles' and therefore homologation specials, either whole vehicles or components, will not be eligible unless agreed officially by the Championship Stewards and the Series Eligibility Scrutineer and their decision will be final."

 

absoluty

 

I can't beleive after 52 posts nobody has gotten the correct classification for the MINI.

There's even a whole magazine dedicated to its class of car.

It's a SPORT COMPACT CAR. And please don't go off into the whole crap that Sport Compact Cars are only ricers and modified civic's.

Sport Compact Cars are exactly that Small Sporty Cars for REAL people.

 

I can deal with that. It's a nice loop-hole that probably made a lot of people feel better about their cars.

What is a sports car? What is a sport compact car? What is Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot... yada yada yada

This reminds me of a debate I have a lot with friends about who is or is not an athlete. I define an athlete as someone who can adapt his or her body to new motions almost immediately, one who can learn skills and sports quickly, one who is coordinated, has body control, and who looks like they know what they're doing with their hands, feet, legs, and all of those put together at once. No, I do not think most NFL linemen are "athletes".

That matters to this discussion because the MINI as a "sports car" is a question of the MINI's athletic ability. MINI's have their playgrounds that they excel on; they love the cones in the parking lot that is an autocross. They even get up there with the very BEST sports cars EVER in the slalom. So to not call a MINI a sports car would be like deciding that a tennis player who can run a 4.25 40yd dash (like Mike Vick) is not an athlete because his sport isn't as athletic (to most).

I'm not worried about seats or doors or where the engine drives the wheels, just like Bulls fans didn't care how MJ got the ball in the hoop; I'm concerned with what a car does and what it doesn't do. A slolam and a fast course with a lot of turns equals athleticism to me, thus the MINI is athletic, and henceforth, a sports car.

mb

 

MINIs may or may not be sports car, but I DEFINITELY am NOT an athlete. On this point there can be no debate.

 

Whether a car is a "sports car" or not is in the mind of the driver.

What I like about my new MINI is that it adapts easily to my state of mind - when I think of it as a sports car, it drives like a sports car. When I think of it as cost effective transportation for me, my wife and my daughter it drives that way.

Sticking a label on something doesn't define it, especially something as flexible and fun as a MINI.

/gary mc

 

Well said,I agree,and I don't care what our MINIs are called.I motor,I grin while motoring:smile:
I grin more when NOBODY can keep up in the twisties

 

Well, this is obviously off topic, but since it was already brought up and I disagree with it i'm going to comment. First of all I played college football (Strong Safety/Weak Side Linebacker) and no offense, but clearly you did not. If you had you wouldn't be making this comment. There are a lot of 300 pound men out there, and only a small percentage make it to the NFL. It takes great athleticism to do what they do. How about trying to pack on 50 or 100 or however many pound it takes you to get to 300, then try to run with one of those guys. See if you can have the footspeed and footwork neccessary to keep from getting juked out of your shoes by a guy that runs a 4.4 forty like Dwight Freeny. See if you can get out front of a tailback that runs a 4.5 and manage to take down an outside linebacker who should have a natural quickness advantage owing to a relative lack of size. If you can do those things, then feel free to coment on their 'lack of athleticism'. Football is a very specialized sport, but there's not a man on that field that isn't a highly trained athlete.

 

Ask yourself, how do the driving dynamics of a MCS compare to a traditional sports car, i.e. an MG or maybe a Triumph or a Jaguar XKE? I believe our Minis will outdo them in every catagory. So what's a sports car? And more to the point....who cares?

 

Spoken like someone who's never played football.



Threads like this always have a tendency to feel like people are trying to justify their car purchase. The same discussion takes place on every sport-compact board out there. The rationalization is always "I can outhandle XXX with my super-modified whatever".

The measure of a performance car is constantly changing... Think back to the Lamborghini Countach - the supercar of many of our childhoods - which managed to run a measly 14.6 1/4 mile with almost 500HP. Comparisons are hard to make between todays cars and those yesteryear.

Even if the mini came stock with 300HP it's still FWD - something no sports car (by my definition) has ever been.

 

For us car nuts, whose veins flowed with Castrol oil, back in the olden days when the term GT was coined, there ensued volumes of time consuming texts painstakingly committed to memory or desultory discussions under naked incandescents while we sat on one or another greasy fender or even greasier floor jack.

Back then we even debated which was the first real GT and most agreed on the Gullwing Mercedes although some conceded to the more obscure Lancia Aurelia B24 (which had a back bench--GTs were allowed to have 4 seats). Journalists of the time agreed that driving a sports car usually required some human sacrifice (an eardrum or kidney, yet a messed-up do was never acknowledged), but a GT allowed driver and passenger to arrive, not too far behind, unruffled and ready for the post-race cocktails and banquet. For awhile it had even been debated whether true GTs had to be hard tops even though manufacturers (Ferrari for example) applied the term to dropheads.

Thereafter, in the late 60s, an alarm was sounded to warn of the demise of the true sports car. Enthusiasts wondered whether the Morgans and Shelby Cobras were to be the last of their kind and that subsequent true sports cars would be confined to the race track. Soon, in the USA, with battering ram bumper and emasculating emissions regulations, enthusiasts began to worry about the demise of the GT even though the number of cars with that appellation proliferated.

However in the mid-60s BMW introduced a line of cars that saved its corporate butt. Journalists raved and christened them Sports Sedans. It was as though BMW had invented a new genre. It was so practical that the notion caught on (admittedly taking many years). Although other makes had anticipated those BMWs, such as Jaguar, the street Mini and its variants were never seriously considered as sports anythings.

Cars have only been with us for a century. Descriptive words for cars were coined within our memory (SUV?) or of those of our parents or grandparents. Although the meaning of all words changes over time I believe the traditional enthusiasts' definition of sports car may not have been with us long enough to have evolved to the extent that it would embrace the MINI (or just about any street-legal car produced today).

I admit to having been away from the car scene for 20 years so this opinion may have been expressed well beyond its sell by date.

 

^^^Now THAT was a gorgeous and classic post, morknmini! Thanks!

I am a sport, so Wanda is my sport's car!


Clover

 

I agree. The MINI is in its own class:

 

Yep, I agree, they are HIGHLY trained. And hindsight tells me it might not have been a good idea to offend men of that stature, but my opinion remains. They are extremely good at what they do, the top 1% in the world even; my opinion is just they don't exude what I believe to be athleticism (see my other post for that def.).

Congrats on playing college football, especially strong safety, one of the most athletic positions out there!

mb

 

My insurance company sure thinks it's a sports car!

 

Such a grey area. Two or four seater? Does the Porsche 911 or Jag XKE 4 place Coupe qualify? Front, rear or all wheel drive? Looking back in racing history, we can see all of these used successfully at Indy, Rally racing, endurance racing, even 4WD drag racing funny cars in the 70s. Gee, this is difficult.

 

In my opinion, the car is a car that can embarass other sports cars in other catagories; ie, slalom lataral accel. What do I call it? It has a distinct group of its own...the mini just isnt a sports car. Its a "hot hatch"..a "pocket rocket"



And the Lotus Elan?

 

What is a sports car,is it just RWD or AWD or two seaters cars? If it is then The MINI is not. In 30 years when cars are electric the question will be asked again. If my MINI is not a sports car I can sure beat alot of them in all aspects!

 

Watch an NFL films episode hilighting the linemen. You will change your opinion instantly, because after reading your definition they are certainly athletes by your definition. The entire job of an offensive lineman, and tackles in particular, involves the quick and precise use of their hands and feet. I'm sorry, but you're just showing your football ignorance by your statement.

 

A few years back I owned an M Roadster. Two seats, drop top, extra quick and for sure a sports car.

But I think of my MCS as a more "practicle" sports car

 

The Auburn Speedster and the Cord were THE sports cars of their day, both FWD.

 

That is some funny junk, and sums up exactly how I feel when people say that to me!!

 

I think it's what ever you want it to be! Mine is just great.