Photo: BMW
Back in May this year's edition of the Nurburgring 24 Hours race was held on one of the world's most famous (and demanding) racetracks. A lot of interesting things happened there, including an achievement unlike any other in the history of the MINI brand.
Back then, a private racing team going by the name Bulldog Racing took a MINI John Cooper Works right to the podium of the competition, snatching an incredible second place in the 1.6- to 2-liter production-based vehicles class.
That's the best finish ever for any MINI at endurance races, and one that seems to have inspired the team responsible for it to offer about the same kind of thrills as the Nurburgring-spec JCW to individual customers who can drive it down the road. And here it is, the MINI John Cooper Works Bulldog Racing Edition in all its (yet) unsung glory.
As per the team responsible for this thing, you're looking at a kind of MINI that boasts many of the features and equipment that were used on the Nurburgring race car. The difference is that this being road legal it does not use the track-only safety features of that car.
In all fairness the Bulldog Racing Edition is not a custom car per se, but a sort of package that can be used by customers to upgrade their JCWs. What that means is individual components have been devised, and they can be installed and combined "according to the customer's preferences."
The list of these individual components includes the KW V3 suspension that allows adjustments to compression and rebound, but also helps with grip and the way the car behaves in turns. The settings for each car equipped with this hardware are fine-tuned on the Nurburgring.
Then we get OZ Racing HyoperGT alloy wheels, sized 17 inches and wearing Pirelli P Zero Performance tires.
Inside, owners of MINIs going for this conversion can lose the rear seats and have them taken out. This, of course, cuts down the car's weight and can help increase performance.
As far as the engine is concerned we are not told anything about possible changes there, except for the fitting of a custom exhaust system. That means any Bulldog Racing Edition MINI will sport under the hood the 231 hp engine tied to a 6-speed manual transmission for ultimate kicks.
Bulldog does not say how much it will charge for these conversions (it also probably depends on how each customer customizes their car), but it does say they can be performed on any MINI of this variety made from 2014 onwards.
To make sure everyone on the road knows these are Nurburgring-spec machines, each can wear a special racing decal on the roof, but also an individual badge fitted inside "identifying the car as a numbered limited edition." The date when the suspension system was set up on the German race track will also be inscribed onto this badge.
That's the best finish ever for any MINI at endurance races, and one that seems to have inspired the team responsible for it to offer about the same kind of thrills as the Nurburgring-spec JCW to individual customers who can drive it down the road. And here it is, the MINI John Cooper Works Bulldog Racing Edition in all its (yet) unsung glory.
As per the team responsible for this thing, you're looking at a kind of MINI that boasts many of the features and equipment that were used on the Nurburgring race car. The difference is that this being road legal it does not use the track-only safety features of that car.
In all fairness the Bulldog Racing Edition is not a custom car per se, but a sort of package that can be used by customers to upgrade their JCWs. What that means is individual components have been devised, and they can be installed and combined "according to the customer's preferences."
The list of these individual components includes the KW V3 suspension that allows adjustments to compression and rebound, but also helps with grip and the way the car behaves in turns. The settings for each car equipped with this hardware are fine-tuned on the Nurburgring.
Then we get OZ Racing HyoperGT alloy wheels, sized 17 inches and wearing Pirelli P Zero Performance tires.
Inside, owners of MINIs going for this conversion can lose the rear seats and have them taken out. This, of course, cuts down the car's weight and can help increase performance.
As far as the engine is concerned we are not told anything about possible changes there, except for the fitting of a custom exhaust system. That means any Bulldog Racing Edition MINI will sport under the hood the 231 hp engine tied to a 6-speed manual transmission for ultimate kicks.
Bulldog does not say how much it will charge for these conversions (it also probably depends on how each customer customizes their car), but it does say they can be performed on any MINI of this variety made from 2014 onwards.
To make sure everyone on the road knows these are Nurburgring-spec machines, each can wear a special racing decal on the roof, but also an individual badge fitted inside "identifying the car as a numbered limited edition." The date when the suspension system was set up on the German race track will also be inscribed onto this badge.
Google News