Just when we thought we’d seen every possible modification possible to the marvellous Mini, up pops another. To be honest, we are quite excited about this one.
Take one bog standard Mk 3 Mini. Add a V6. Add a Supercharger. Add a six-speed box. Remove unnecessary weight and bingo, one very, very hot Mini.
That is what one Californian tuner is offering. (Why isn’t a British tuner doing this? Hey-ho). Gildred Racing have form here. They’ve been doing great things with Mini’s for many years. But this is on another level.
Gildred named the 1974 Mk 3 platform a Super Cooper S. They begin with a strip-down of the interior and original running gear. Sacrilege? Possibly, but bear with. Gildred then turn Issigonis’s classic front engined run-about back to front. The fuel tank is relocated from the boot to under the bonnet (Under the hood, in Californian terms) along with the coolant radiator and separate oil cooler.
Removing those components complete with rear seats and rear firewall allows the powertrain to be mounted at the rear of the car. And what a powertrain it is. A modified 24v aluminium block V6 with a Rotrex C38 Supercharger producing 380ftlb of torque and just over 500bhp. Rather coyly Gildred doesn’t give performance figures for their creation. In a wonderfully understated statement, they simply say the results are “quite impressive”.
Gildred seem to have thought of everything. To prevent you running out of road, the Super Cooper is fitted with Wilwood four piston brake callipers coupled with 9.5” vented discs.
Inside there are usual modern upgrades including Ipad, stereo, starter button and if you want, an option of heated seats. It is a wonderful package.
What is not to like? Ignoring that the steering wheel is on the wrong side, but we’re sure they’d sort that for you if you asked, plus you’d need just short of £120,000 to own it, we cannot see any down side whatsoever.
Where do we sign for our Super Cooper S.
