Clemson Sports Car Club

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/08/mini-...a-w-video/
I love the bravado. I will be watching when I break from studying from my exams. Who you got to win? I think the Mini could take it on the shorter Club Circuit, but the Full Circuit's massive straight would allow the Carrera to get too far ahead.

My money's on the porsche to win both. It can handle and it has power. The mini can just handle.

Thats not what this is really about though - it's about Mini getting compared to Porsche. They're doing it so that people will see both and put them on the same platform- so Mini can get away with selling their econobox for $35k while every other manufacture has to sell theirs for $20k.

um, at Road Atlanta?
the porsche will destroy it, even on the short circuit.

i hope Mini shows up with a modded Cooper S, that would make it interesting.

Don't forget about the BTCC, where the original Mini went toe to toe with Mustangs and other much more powerful cars. I think it's all about momentum. Underpowered cars like Minis and Miatas are all about consistency and since they handle so well, they can be more consistent Porsches over a period of laps and build speed gradually. The Porsche's fastest lap will undoubtedly be quicker, but I bet it's more difficult to be consistent with.

(06-09-2010 01:01 PM)stevebullitt Wrote: [ -> ]Don't forget about the BTCC, where the original Mini went toe to toe with Mustangs and other much more powerful cars. I think it's all about momentum. Underpowered cars like Minis and Miatas are all about consistency and since they handle so well, they can be more consistent Porsches over a period of laps and build speed gradually. The Porsche's fastest lap will undoubtedly be quicker, but I bet it's more difficult to be consistent with.

Erm, that doesn't make any sense. When you say a mini or miata is a momentum car, that means it doesn't slow down much for corners (in part because it handles well, but also because it doesn't go very fast to begin with). I'll bet the Porsche's cornering speed is just as fast (if not faster) than the Mini's. What are those things that connect corners? Straights. Porsche dominates there too.

Consistency is great... except when you're consistently slower.

Maybe Porsche will send a newly licensed driver there to race to prove a point and he/she will crash within a few laps?


Or this scenario:


vs.

(06-09-2010 03:58 PM)humjaba Wrote: [ -> ]

(06-09-2010 01:01 PM)stevebullitt Wrote: [ -> ]Don't forget about the BTCC, where the original Mini went toe to toe with Mustangs and other much more powerful cars. I think it's all about momentum. Underpowered cars like Minis and Miatas are all about consistency and since they handle so well, they can be more consistent Porsches over a period of laps and build speed gradually. The Porsche's fastest lap will undoubtedly be quicker, but I bet it's more difficult to be consistent with.

Erm, that doesn't make any sense. When you say a mini or miata is a momentum car, that means it doesn't slow down much for corners (in part because it handles well, but also because it doesn't go very fast to begin with). I'll bet the Porsche's cornering speed is just as fast (if not faster) than the Mini's. What are those things that connect corners? Straights. Porsche dominates there too.

Consistency is great... except when you're consistently slower.

What I mean is that with cars like Minis and Miatas, your first laps won't be your fastest. But since they handle so well, you can build speed by hitting a consistent line more easily and push the car harder without it pushing back. The Porsche has much more power to make its own speed and a ton of grip, but when you push the car harder and harder, it bites back. I suspect that the Porsche will be harder to control in the fast esses since the rear end will want to rotate more violently in the transitions.

I'm sure both parties will supply their own drivers, both of whom know the quirks of their vehicles and can drive them to their full potential. and the Porsche has waaay more potential, especially a pretty fast road course like RA. That said, money's on the Porsche.

Hats off to mini if they make a good showing, but I agree that it's most likely a marketing scheme, not they're actually out to win it.

There's nothing for Porsche to gain through this and everything for them to lose, vice versa for Mini.

If porsche wins, who cares they beat a car thats half of the price, if mini loses, who cares they lost to a car thats twice it's price...

I'd be shocked if this event goes down, if it does I expect it to go to the Porsche but not by a very large margin!

Scorke

It's all good fun, no one in their right mind is going to assume that a Mini is a better performance car out of the box than a Porsche 911 unless they're 100% in the lighter is better camp. If that were the case, they wouldn't like either anyway.

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/10/follo...lanta-w-v/

Porsche backed out. No surprise really. Porsche and Ferrari are both extremely jealous of their reps and will not jeopardize them for anything. I remember reading in Car and Driver that Ferrari always refuses to supply a car for a comparison test if they think it's remotely possible that they won't win it. The Challenge Stradle in this test supposedly came from a reader. http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comp...ison_tests
The GT won this one by a point and would later lose to the 430 in another comparison 2 years later.

I didn't think ti was going to happen. Stock for stock. Mini S vs a base 911. 911 will win easily.

If you read that post carefully, it says ".....the competition would be held in the paddock, not the track's actual tarmac." I think they were planning a tight autocross, where the much lighter and more toss-able Mini would nullify the massive power advantage of the 911.

(06-10-2010 05:47 PM)stevebullitt Wrote: [ -> ]If you read that post carefully, it says ".....the competition would be held in the paddock, not the track's actual tarmac." I think they were planning a tight autocross, where the much lighter and more toss-able Mini would nullify the massive power advantage of the 911.

Dirty...screw fine print!

Maybe it is 100 foot drag race in reverse?