MINI vs Porsche 2010 Showdown Wrapup
On June 7th, MINI USA threw down the gauntlet. Publishing a one-page ad in The New York Times at the same time as publishing a video on YouTube and their Facebook page, MINI USA CEO Jim McDowell set down the ground rules: MINI brings a 2010 Cooper S and their own driver, Porsche likewise but with a Carrera S. The track at Road Atlanta was booked for June 21st. The two makers would be racing for bragging rights (and valet parking spaces).
Porsche, arguably the quintessential German auto maker, gave a quintessentially German answer: We race on the track, not for publicity. And by opting out of this challenge (even where the odds were stacked in their favor), Porsche lost some respect from me. I mean, come on. Who says car manufacturers need to be so serious? In response, Porsche referred to this advert they made a few years back:
(This is some nice vintage footage but when’s the last time Porsche really caned anyone in motorsports? All of this footage is from the middle of the last century, when roadgoing Porsches were still mostly aircooled.)
MINI even gave Porsche a second chance by flying an airplane over Porsche’s USA headquarters in Atlanta with a banner behind it reading: “Dear Porsche, Bring it! Love, MINI.” Jim McDowell also responded with another video message:
MINI then posted a video to comedy website Funny or Die parodying the training montage from Rocky IV, equating Porsche to the character of Ivan Drago.
Mini Rocky IV – watch more funny videos
And this is where things got really interesting. On the 18th, Korean auto manufacturer Hyundai sent a video to Jalopnik and Autoblog challenging MINI to a race in July. Their new Genesis Coupe is getting rave reviews and laying the smackdown on such RWD icons as the Z, Mustang and Camaro and they’re right to want to show it off.
The weekend came and went but Porsche remained as silent as before. MINI found its own 911 Carrera S and its own driver in order to continue the challenge. They opened the venue to any MINI or Porsche drivers who wanted to drive the track and attend the event. Jalopnik scribe Sam Smith expressed dismay, however, that although the event was held at Road Atlanta, the course was in a small parking lot/skidpad and not on the 2 1/2 mile asphalt main circuit. He called the event ‘badvertising’ and wrote about his disappointment in MINI for misleading the autoblogosphere.
Finally, the day was upon us. Some loyal MF readers posted updates of what was happening on the track and Facebook, but unfortunately MINI had some technical difficulties keeping the live video feed reliable.
Unsurprisingly, the Cooper S lost by 2 seconds to the Carrera S. MINI USA recons that this means those two seconds cost $30,000 each given the price difference between the cars (some classic fuzzy math). All in all, MINI did what they set out to do: challenge a more prestigious marque to a race fair and square. Jalopnik’s Sam Smith was expecting a Harlem Globetrotters-esque bag of tricks from the small British car, but MINI made it abundantly clear that no trickery was to be involved. Aspiring to be a classic brand like Porsche, and not backing down despite being snubbed reflects MINI’s tenacious nature. I sincerely hope to see MINI take up Hyundai’s offer, and then perhaps challenge other icons like the Mustang GT, Camaro SS and maybe even the VW GTI. It’s not about win or lose, it’s about showing that MINI seeks permanent residency in the pantheon of automotive legends. If you recall, many predicted that MINI would not last given the ‘retro’ flash-in-the-pan trend that they rode into the USA (PT Cruiser, VW New Beetle, Ford Thunderbird) but PR events like this say clearly that MINI is here to stay.
Check out MINI USA’s Facebook page with all the official event details here.
<p>Glad it’s over, let’s get back to talking about MINIs.</p>
<p>The best part about this was the Videos from</p>
<p>thump thump thump Jim McDowell We want more Video’s
More Video’s</p>
<p>To Quote Jim McDowell</p>
<p>Bring it On :)</p>
<p>AS in More Video’s</p>
<p>I don’t mind Hyundai’s challenge, but since they couldn’t “show up” because their driver was busy, they should front all the cash that MINI dropped for renting the track, providing instructor guided track time, food, t-shirts, posters, gum, and all the other goodness that MINI paid for this event. Jim McDowell and the rest of the MINI USA team did an excellent job pulling this together and making it available for all the enthusiasts that wanted to join in on the fun.</p>
<p>Mr. McDowell, it was a pleasure to meet you. Thank you again, and since there is not a MINI that seats five, I’ll try to convince my wife into getting a second MINI. :)</p>
<p>Brendan (or Gabe) wrote:</p>
<blockquote>“And by opting out of this challenge (even where the odds were stacked in their favor), Porsche lost some respect from me.”</blockquote>
<p>That makes it a net break-even, because MINI lost some respect from me for this stunt.</p>
<p>Just curious… If MINI was serious about this why not throw out a JCW instead of an S? It would have had a better chance against the Cayman but still probably would have lost.</p>
<p>Well to this baby boomer its all a bit silly and childish. Get on with the real things that matter like bums in seats and sorting out the diesel saga.
Porsche does not need to prove anything and neither does MINI. They are not in the same price bracket or sales segment. Try picking on someone that matters like a VW Golf GTI or Japanese marque and leave niche low volume prestige cars like Porsche to themselves.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Just curious… If MINI was serious about this why not throw out a JCW instead of an S? It would have had a better chance against the Cayman but still probably would have lost.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Win on Sunday sell on Monday. The JCW isn’t a volume seller for MINI. The MCS is. They also wanted to focus on the price disparity and the MCS was the better way to do that.</p>
<p>I met Jim and shook hands with him at the MINIs on Top 2010 event just this weekend — how many car vendors can you buy their car, go drive it up a mountain and shake hands with its president!</p>
<p>MINI has the right spirit, and these events are great for awareness and to stay close to the customer. Go MINI!</p>
<p>Why do performance car companies have to be so serious? Because expensive, high performance cars are about actually performing through meaningful stats and victories–which made the Nissan GT-R actually beating Porsche on the test track such a big deal. It’s a business, to sell performance, and Porsche knows how to do it.</p>
<p>For MINI to take its place in the pantheon of legendary performance cars, it needs to start by knowing its place, and not griefing its way to some sort of class-clown respectability. As a style icon, MINI can have all the fun it wants, but not on the track.</p>
<p>Building a respectable performance variant, and not the marketing exercise that is the current JCW car, would be a nice start to gaining the respect of the performance seekers.</p>
<p>There have to be people within the MINI organization who agree with this. MINI is simply too smart of a company. This stunt came off like someone’s pet project over there.</p>