Bushings company put M3 V8 into modern Mini Cooper
Stunning job required four years work
We’ve seen loads of motors put in versions of the classic Mini, but we’ve never seen anything like this. It’s named Vini, and it takes an R56 Mini chassis and packs a V8 pulled straight from a BMW M3 sending power to the rear wheels.
The Mini was built by Powerflex, a UK company that builds polyurethane suspension bushings to add performance to loads of modern cars. The company spent four years to build this car, a showcase of what the British tuning industry is capable of. It will be put on display at the Goodwood Festival of Speed later this week (via Drivetribe).
Powering this beast is a 4.0L S65 V8 straight out of an E90 BMW M3. It makes 414 hp and is attached to its original seven-speed dual-clutch box.
Putting the engine facing rearward in a tiny car built for one mounted sideways was a massive challenge. It required massive structural changes to the car, and the engine and rear differential are now mounted on Subaru STI subframes. With bushings from you know who.
Before you open the doors (or turn on the engine), the car looks largely stock. Though the Toyo Proxes R888R tires do give away that this car has serious track intentions.
Inside the car is fully caged, with custom door panels, that reworked floorpan, and proper racing seats. The suspension setup is a custom set of coil overs from Bilstein made for the car that allow full adjustment and corner-weighting. A custom air intake from ITG lets the engine fit under the stock Mini hood and helps keep the secret and stopping is handled by Alcon rotors and calipers with a Bosch Motorsports control unit.
It’s an amazing bit of work, looking better than factory in execution. Here’s to hoping it starts a new trend in highly modified Minis.
