Mini with 3,500 HP Cummins Engine Coming to Goodwood

We know an engine that delivers 175 hp is more than enough to make a contemporary MINI a performance vehicle. But how about doubling the figure? You’d get a 350 hp MINI. But why limit yourself? Why not take the new power rating and multiply it by.... let’s say ten? Are you still with us?

If the answer is “yes”, then we have to tell you that we haven’t forgotten our brains in a test drive car or anything like that, we’ve just taken a look in Cummins’ garden and found out that the world’s largest diesel engine maker (the adjective can be used for both “Cummins” and “engine”) has strapped a 11 tonnes, 3,500 hp oil-burner to a classic Mini. Now, that’s the kind of MINI diesel we’d drive.

The vehicle, which will be showcased at the upcoming Goodwood Festival of Speed, features the largest engine in the company’s offer. The QSK78 powerplant, which is also the largest oil burner in the UK, uses a V18 layout, has a 78 liter displacement and uses 12 turbochargers to deliver 3,500 hp and a maximum torque of 14,800 Nm.

The engine’s everyday job is to power mining industry dump trucks that can carry up to 360 tonnes so we’re guessing it could do a pretty good job with the MINI.

“We never like to let a challenge go by unanswered so we got to thinking maybe we could fit the QSK78 into an original Austin Mini. It proved to be a bit tricky to fit under the bonnet but our engineers came up with a more creative solution. We’re certain that the Goodwood crowd will have difficulty believing what they are seeing,” said Steve Nendick, Cummins’ Communications Director.

You hear that MINI USA? This is the kind of marketing challenge people like to see.