Hear This 1991 Mini Build With 13,000 RPM Kawasaki Ninja Mid-Mounted Engine

This Mini build sits somewhere in between. It's based on a 1991 Rover Mini, which means the donor car was neither expensive nor hard to come by. Looking at it, it's hard to imagine somebody was still making these things in the early '90s, but it is what it is.

The owner, however, had plans for the little road-legal go-kart. That engine that made the Mini famous in the first place was completely removed, making way for a fuel tank instead - and what looks like a bit of storing space, if you don't mind your stuff reeking of gasoline.

The new engine was installed just behind the driver, turning the vehicle in the two-seater it should have always been. There's not a lot of room there but the new unit didn't require that much anyway. That's because it's a 998cc (60.9ci) four-stroke, liquid-cooled, 16-valve DOHC, inline-four developing 160 horsepower. The best part? It's sourced from a Kawasaki Ninja ZX10R, which means two things: it'll rev like crazy and make a lot of sound in the process.

Indeed, the video showcasing the vehicle makes for a weird watch. You see a car but hear the sound that your brain has been associating with a motorcycle for so many years. There are moments where you question whether the audio tracks were mixed during editing with those from a bike video.

The Mini also borrows Ninja's sequential transmission, making driving it all the more exciting and rally-like than a regular manual would have. The interior is custom-made and looks very nice, with the sole problem being that you're inches away from a loud, obnoxious superbike engine - the ones who usually wake you up in the middle of the night. There's just a firewall separating the cockpit from the new engine bay, so it gets pretty loud and pretty hot in there. However, the fun of driving this trumps any shortcomings, so do the best thing you can to experience this crazy custom Mini and watch the clip below.