The MINI Scores in Car & Driver Superfour Challenge

From Car & Driver.com:

Since 2001, we've hosted an annual two-day competition for modified production cars. The event involved a day of driving on public streets and a day at the track.

Competitors-the tuners who produce these highly modified performance cars-drove their cars (or we did) through a kind of jumbo autocross that included a standing-start quarter-mile run, a road-course section, a blast to 150 mph, and a hard-braking stop from 150 mph-all in one continuous run. The winner was the car that completed the course in the shortest time.

Despite having one of the lower prices of the group and going up against cars like the much higher priced Mitsu Evo and an impressive tricked out Honda S2000 the Mini Madness MCS had a great showing on the road course (besting all other front drivers by 1.5 seconds!) which helped lead to an overall 3rd place finish:

Under its stubby hood, the Madness Mini had a supercharger drive pulley that upped the blower speed by 15 percent, raising boost from 11.6 to 15.0 psi. Further mods include a ported and polished Madness Stage 3 head with big valves and a Schrick cam, a throttle body bored out from 58 millimeters to 63, a header, and a Borla exhaust system. Larger injectors and a modified ECU added fuel to match the engine's deeper breathing.

Mehallick credits the modified engine with 245 horsepower at 7100 rpm and 198 pound-feet of torque at 4000 rpm. To transmit this big twist to the wheels, the Madness Mini came with a modified flywheel and clutch, as well as a Quaife limited-slip differential.

The extra power comes with a comprehensively reworked suspension, including KW adjustable coil-over shocks at each corner that increase ride rates and lower the car nearly two inches. Several major components are adjustable, including the rear anti-roll bar, the rear lower-control arms, and the front camber plates. Big StopTech front brakes and upgraded rear discs shed speed when necessary.

On the street, this muscular Mini's powertrain felt solid and robust. The clutch engagement was smooth and progressive, the power curve was glitch-free, and the car suffered amazingly little torque steer, even at full throttle in first gear.

The chassis was a bit more demanding for street use, with a stiff ride that provoked a squeak or two in this car with 14,000 miles on the odo. And the modified exhaust would bore a large hole in your brain over a long trip. But the steering and the brakes were fluid and natural.

On the track, the firm chassis paid off with the best road-course time-by 1.5 seconds-among the front-drivers, as well as the best stop in the class from 130 mph at 534 feet. By employing these strengths, the Madness Mini turned the third-best overall time for front-drivers, despite acceleration that trailed the pack in almost every category.

It's nice to see the MINI do so well against competition from higher price brackets. You can read more about the MINI Maddness MCS test here.