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.

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[ BBR MINI Cooper S 300T ] AutoExpress