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MINI Challenges Porsche

This is the map of the Atlanta Road Track
As the automotive world is moving into a new era, the guys in the marketing departments are on a constant race to develop new ways of promoting the automakers’ products.The latest “extra-juicy” marketing move on the market comes from Jim McDowell, President of MINI USA, who has challenged the Porsche 911 Carrera S to a track duel.

The MINI executive, who’s career record includes 8 years of serving Porsche, released a Facebook campaign and an online video, asking Detlev von Platen, C.E.O. of Porsche’s U.S. arm, to bring the 911 S to a race with the MINI Cooper S.

The two cars are supposed to be handled by factory drivers with the proposed race taking place at the Road Atlanta in two weeks.
McDowell promises that, if the race takes place, he will subsequently wear a t-shirt that displays the “We Beat Porsche” message or one that says “We Did Not Beat Porsche” at his next public appearance.

As a reminder, we will tell you that the MINI Cooper S is a 2436.1 lbs (1105 kg), front wheel drive animal, powered by a turbocharged 1.6 liter engine which develops 175 hp at 5,500 rpm and 240 Nm of torque at 1,600 rpm. The rear-wheel drive, rear-engined Porsche 911 Carrera S tips the scales at 3306.9 lbs (1500 kg) and uses a naturally aspirated 3.8 liter boxer powerplant, which offers 385 hp at 6,500 rpm and 309 lb-ft of torque at 4,400 rpm.

What is interesting is the fact that the Cooper S is not the most powerful production MINI (that title goes to the John Cooper Works version of the car) and the 911 Carrera S is not the entry level version of the 911 range (the basic 911 is the Carrera).

But these figures don’t tell us anything about the handling, and this is what the possible race is going to be focused on. We’ll just have to wait and see if the car that started out in life as a napkin sketch can leave the vehicle that wears the engine in the wrong place in its dust...

The latest example of such a bold challenge that comes to our mind also took place in the U.S. and involves Bob Lutz, the Cadillac CTS-V and the Jaguar XFR.

You can watch McDowell throw the racing gautnlet in the video bellow:




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About the author: Andrei Tutu
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In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist.
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