When 210hp Just Isn't Enough

Sections: In the Press Aug 4th, 2005 27 Comments

AutoExpress brings us news of a UK tuner who has broken the 300hp barrier with the Cooper S:

Built by tuning expert Brodie Brittain Racing, this is a Cooper S like no other. With its supercharger junked in favour of a turbo, the BBR 300T pumps out a mighty 307bhp and 424Nm of torque. That’s enough to propel it to a top speed of 160mph, and sprint from 0-100mph in the time it’s taken you to read this paragraph.

Extracting so much power from the MINI’s humble 1.6-litre engine takes a huge amount of work. Starting with a standard Cooper S unit, BBR strips and rebuilds it using a new cylinder head with bigger valves and polished surfaces to improve gas flow. The camshaft is replaced, and there’s a new air intake and cooling system to force-feed the extreme motor.

Complex reworking of the electronic control systems and engine mapping is also required to enable the unit to run with a turbo rather than the supercharger. A three-stage throttle-actuated boost controller works to tame the 300T’s rampant muscle. Naturally, it’s not only the engine which has come in for attention

Fitted with BBR’s own Power Grip suspension and uprated brakes from AP, the MINI’s already capable chassis has been improved in an effort to cope with the vastly increased performance.

So, what does a 307bhp, 160mph MINI feel like? Explosively fast is the short answer. However, you need a steely nerve to guide it, for although essentially well mannered at modest speeds, the Cooper S 300T bares its sabre-like teeth when you push the throttle pedal to the carpet.

You can read the entire article below:

[ BBR MINI Cooper S 300T ] AutoExpress

Written By: MF Reader

http://www.detailingconcepts.com Matt

the August EVO also has an article on this balistic MCS.
minimc

Wonder if BBR is aware of the SPI Twincharged cars which have been at or around 300hp for some time now.

I know this is supposed to be exciting, but the whole turbo thing is so 2007 ;>)
dgszweda

The SPI Twincharged car has been over 400hp for some time now. It passed 300hp almost a year ago.
meanboy

wasn’t that 400hp with juice?
Frank

So when will we see a 1000HP MCS?

These horsepower wars are really silly, IMHO.
Brendan

Can a mini really put that much power to the ground? I mean the car is so light, and fwd. You’d think a mini with that kind of HP would just be a big fat tire shredder.
MadisonMini

There’s a reason that sports cars with that much horsepower are either AWD or RWD.

My JCW MCSC can difficult to control with the pedal down with all that torque going to the wheels that you are also using to steer the car. I can’t imagine having 300HP in a FWD car and having any control…it would be scary.
https://secure.mawebcenters.com/wc/sd_websites/spirit2/ O(=^=)O Capn

oooohh, Getrag AWD, hmmn, me like.
Kyle

That’s incredible. Are there any numbers on it (0-60,ect.)?
Siddhartha

ZZZZZZZzzzzzz
gokartride

That’s awesome……..but I’ll keep my Cooper, thanks.
Derek

OOH – is it available for the automatic?
nemi

I found the BBR web site info:

Turbo Mini: http://www.bbrgti.com/minit.php

Other Mini Conversions: http://www.bbrgti.com/mini.php
http://www.hyperbluemini.com Mike

“In the time it’s taken you to read this paragraph”? Well, with an average reading speed of 200 words per minute, and 60 words in the paragraph (depending on what you call a word, anyway), that’s 18 seconds, which I wouldn’t call very impressive. :P
Ralph

Minispeed UK modifies MCS to a Bhp of 275. For an article on what they do check out their website at: http://www.minispeed.co.uk/new_mini/index.cgi?task=load&content=newcars

Minispeed Mini Cooper S Specifications:

Wheels Image split rim 8×18 Brakes AP Racing big brake kit. Performance Staggering. Power 275 Bhp
http://www.hubertus.net/mymini Philip

I like the facts that they kept the focus on tuning the engine, suspension and brakes, but left the exterior nearly untouched. British understatement.

Most of the tuned MINIs look like monsters with their ugly body conversion kits.
THomas

I have a question. I have a cooper S, and just wonder if I just add a JCW air filter, is it any good? Worth the money?
dgszweda

THomas,

What does that have to do with the thread? This is a blog, not a forum. I would suggest that you ask the question on http://www.northamericanmotoring.com or http://www.mini2.com

Both excellent locations for these types of questions.
Michael Burchill
These guys have been around for quite a while… They also have a number of other kits available, with various amount of HP.

http://www.bbrgti.com/mini.php
- - m
Michael Burchill
…Oh – and if you want 300+ bhp, theres also no need to go to the UK. You can also get that rignt here in the USA with Eric Savage, at Helix MINIsports.

His Garrett/TurboKompressor Kit sells for $4,800 – and he has it on his very own everyday-driver MCS too.

http://www.helix13.com/html/products/productview.php?p=6&h=m

(scroll down on the page about halfway)
- - m
http://bravo5.org/blog blalor

So when will we see a 1000HP MCS?

These horsepower wars are really silly, IMHO.

Yep. I’d rather see torque wars. :-)

Besides, there’s a limit to how useful HP and even torque are. I have no interest in going fast in a straight line. Leave that to the top-fuel dragsters. How about a new benchmark for tuning, that focusses on handling? Let’s define a standard road section, like the quarter mile, but with prescribed turns with set radii and distance between them, and then hold up your ETs through there.
Ricardo

The SPI is just a Demo car that just makes dyno runÃ‚Â´s, yes it can run the quarter mile and stop, IÃ‚Â´ve read many threads about this SPI project and the hole thing about criogenics is just crazy, IÃ‚Â´ve spoke many times with Hubie Fuh, he is a great person, but I think the project is most for show, who gets most power on a MINI in the dyno. not an everyday car for the street or the track.
Jake

It’s hard keeping tires from spinning with 160, I can’t imagine 300 or more.
boyitsfast

Remember that the numbers Hubie uses are wheel horse power which are lower than what horsepower is created by the engine (aka crank horse power, base horse power). AutoExpress are using the higher bhp spec’d numbers. Convert that 300bhp to whp numbers and you get about 265 whp. I also remember reading somewhere that Hubies car is his daily driver and he’s put 10′s of thousands of miles on it with the modifications he’s doing.

Jake, the throttle pedal is not an on/off switch. It’s proportional to how much you push on it. Learn to use the throttle to your advantage and you’ll keep from spinning the wheels of your 160hp ride.
expert

my nissan skyline has 855hp so shut up.ps its braking distance from 100km/h is 25m
http://users.adelphia.net/~rocketboy/index.html Rocketboy

So?
http://www.hotmail.com Billy

minicooper bbr 300t is the best car in the world

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