When you look under the hood of a Mini, there doesn’t seem to be enough room for a three-cylinder, never mind a V-8. But because David Power, the man behind Powerflex, is a bit of a madman and wanted something truly outrageous for his track-day toy, he figured out how to stuff a V-8 under the hood of an R50-generation Mini Cooper S. Not just any V-8, either, an S65 V8 from an E92 BMW M3. And with nearly four times the horsepower, Power’s Mini is an absolute animal on track.
In a new episode of the Late Brake Show, host Jonny Smith and former Top Gear host Chris Harris get to drive the monster Mini M3, attempt to drift it, and ultimately have a blast.
Stuffing a 4.0-liter V-8 into the engine bay of a Mini is no easy task. It seems, though, that Power and his crew did a brilliant job. It not only looks so tidy under there, it almost looks like it could have fit from the factory. Of course, a big part of why it fits so well is the drivetrain layout. This V-8 Mini is rear-wheel drive. A normal Mini is front-wheel drive, so its engine is transverse. An S65 V8 would have never fit transversely into the Mini, so they converted it to rear-wheel drive, and sandwiched the M3’s seven-speed dual-clutch transmission in between.
Source: The Late Brake Show/YouTube
Inside, it looks like a purpose-built race car. Its racing seats, roll cage, safety bars everywhere, lack of any sort of creature comforts, and all of the aftermarket chunky buttons on the dash are all designed for track use. Don’t assume that it’s spartan or uncomfortable, though. Okay, so it doesn’t seem exactly comfortable. But it looks incredibly well made, as if a professional racing team developed it from scratch, and Harris seemed impressed by the ride quality.
It even looks great from the outside. Since the wheel track was widened significantly, new black plastic cladding had to be developed to accommodate. That new plastic cladding matches the original design of the car that you’d have to look at both side-by-side to tell the difference.
Smith drives the Mini hard on track, in this new video, but it’s Harris who really pushes it, naturally. Harris is know for his sliding abilities and go-fast nature, and he demonstrates both skills in this video (even if the Mini is difficult to slide around). Projects like these remind us why we liked cars in the first place.
