Let’s face it. We all love to see a small contender win against a supersized rival. Reason 3,000-year-old David and Goliath story still works as a reference point today. Hoonigan featured a similar duel on their YouTube special This Vs. That, between a 1971 Super MINI Cooper S and a 2016 Dodge Charger Hellcat.
The 1971 MK 1 MINI Copper S is not a drag racer. It doesn’t have any business shredding rubber or ripping burnouts on a drag strip. It’s a collectible, perfect for bougie classic car shows where its affluent owners sip wine and nib on cheese, bragging about their huge auction bids.
The 2016 Dodge Charger Hellcat, on the other hand, is a furious racer straight from the factory. It’s designed for one mission – going fast on a straight line.
On paper, the MINI Cooper has nothing on the Charger, but anything with a ton of power and a brave heart has a home on the drag strip.
But this isn’t your ordinary 50-year-old MINI Cooper. It comes with a healthy surprise behind the front seats. It’s a mid-engine rear-wheel-drive ripper in disguise. It packs a supercharged Honda J-Series 3.2-liter V6 (from a mid-2000s Acura CL Type S) making 500 hp (509 ps). It also weighs a little under 2,000 lbs (907 kg).
The 2016 Dodge Charger Hellcat, on the other hand, means business. It runs on a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 Hemi engine making 1,000 hp (1,014 ps) on a rear-wheel-drive platform. It weighs 4,600 lbs. (2,086 kg), giving the Super Cooper a weight advantage.
The two rippers did three drag races (best of two wins). The first race was a 1,000 ft head-to-head duel. When it was time to bolt, the MINI pulled a surprise on the Charger, winning the first race (by five cars). It pulled so fast that its trunk lid fell off!
We won’t get into the details of the second and third races. Instead, we will let you watch all the action in the video below.
Humphrey is a car enthusiast whose love and passion for automobiles extended into collecting, writing, driving, and working on cars. He got his passion for cars from his Dad, who spent thousands of hours working on his old junky 1970 E20 Toyota Corolla. Years later, he would end up doing the same with a series of lemons he’s owned throughout his adult life. Full profile
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