After the story of the man who built his own Lamborghini, we present another car born in the confines of a quiet American garage, but originating in Her Majesty's land: a 1970 Austin Mini with a superbike engine!
The copy we present to you today was the result of a beautiful dream or a terrible nightmare – it depends on your point of view. For the defenders of morals and good manners it was a nightmare. But for us, lovers of everything that burns gasoline, it was definitely a dream come true!
A dream in the shape of a 1970 Austin Mini powered by a 170hp engine from a Yamaha R1. For those who don't know what a Yamaha R1 is, the Yamaha R1 – forgive me the redundancy – is one of the most powerful bikes on the market.
The result could only be… bombastic! After all, we are dealing with an engine with only 1 liter of capacity but capable of climbing up to 11,500rpm with the same ease with which I lounge by a pool, in a luxury resort in the Canaries.
Anyone who has ever piloted a superbike in “knife-to-teeth” mode – whoever has, put your finger in the air… – knows that when you want to move forward with decision, the tachymeter cannot go down from 7000rpm. Below 7,000rpm we drive a “normal” engine but as soon as we pass that regime… Our Lady of Cambotas and Pistons help us! The world takes on new colors and the unit of measurement for straight lines changes from kilometers to meters.
Changing the 2 wheels for the 4 wheels, the experience should be similar. Aboard the claustrophobic chassis of a '70s Mini things should be equally intense.
The weight of the set will not be alien to this. There are 170hp for a weight that does not reach 600kg. To make things a little more interesting, it's good to remember that the changes on this car, just like on motorcycles, can be engaged without using the clutch – if we don't want to have pity or pity on the mechanics.
I confess that I have serious doubts if there is anything in the world, with four wheels and room for four people, that can make a mountain road as fast as this little poison. It was like that in the 60s, when Mini won the Monte Carlo Rally 3 times in a row against a much more powerful competition. And apparently it's still like that...
The good news is that this source of madness is accessible to almost everyone, in a very simple way. And they don't need to put the house up for sale! All you have to do is have the chassis of a Mini «at hand to sow» and buy a kit developed by the British promo-motive (link here).
They provide the instruction manual and all parts – engine included. Of course, this doesn't free you from some beautiful closed evenings in your house's garage, smeared with oil to the teeth. Either that or TVI soap operas…