MINI Coupe Hits The Track in Endurance Kit

MINI wants to be big in motorsport again and is trying different venues to spark people’s imagination and create hype around its products. To this end, the British firm has entered its special new toy in the Nurburgring race.

We’re talking about the 2012 Mini Coupe that has been festooned with John Cooper Works Endurance kit for the 24-hour venue. MINI has just revealed a whole bunch of videos, showing everything from the outside, the inside and some very interesting track shots.

The track beast is powered by a 250-horsepower version of the same forced-induction four-pot found behind the headlights of the company's JCW range-topper.

MINI hasn’t gone into too many details regarding what they’ve done to it, however, we do know that it’s as good as bulletproof when it comes to safety, thanks to features that include a roll cage welded to the bod, sports bucket seat with six-point safety belt and Formula One-style HANS (Head And Neck Support) system. When it comes to active safety, the car adopts the braking system with Race ABS from MINI Challenge racing and adds a specially tuned DSC dynamic control system, also optimized for the race track.

“Motor sport is in the MINI genes. And now the carmaker is set to add a new chapter to its racing heritage with the arrival of the MINI John Cooper Works Coupé Endurance. The newly developed racer will line up at this year's 24-hour race at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife circuit, previewing the series-production version of the car due to be unveiled to the public in autumn 2011,” MINI says.