MINI Hot Rod Autocarの記事
•マーズスピード ストーリー
MINI Hot Rod Autocarの記事
1997年10月発行の英国自動車マガジン「Autocar」の切抜きが出てきましたので ご紹介したいと思います。
BMW社製ニュー・ミニのプロトタイプ発表時に 当社・英国マーズ・スピードが手がけた「Mini Hot Rod（ミニ ホット ロッド）」が特別展示されましたが 英国他多くの諸外国でTV取材、雑誌取材されたにもかかわらず 当社では 日々の忙しい業務に終われ その資料をほとんど保存できていませんでした。 しかし この度 倉庫を整理していたところ 1997年10月発行の英国自動車マガジン「Autocar」の切抜きが出てきましたので ご紹介したいと思います。
Dynamite!
FIRST DRIVE
HOT ROD MIIt’s got to be the maddest Mini ever, a tiny terror packing a specific power output that makes a Ferrari F355 look a bit lame. By Hug Andreae
Bored with life? Sick to death of cars? Thinking of kicking it in and buying a yacht? Not until you’ve driven one of these. Nothing, I repeat nothing, will give you a thrill as intense as the Mini Hot Rod. It’s the silliest thing you’re ever likely to drive, not to mention the noisiest, fastest and most expensive. And I want one. Now.
Once you’ve parted with your ￡50,000 cheque, made payable to Mini road and race experts Jack Knight Developments Ltd, the experience starts ordinarily enough. From the outside it looks almost tame, like a conventional Cooper with a couple of slightly kitsch leather bonnet straps and a retro paint job. Open the driver’s door. However, and the illusion of normality falters. The normal Mini interior has been scrapped in favour of a massive steel roll bar, two bucket seats and enough aluminium sheeting to set up a Coke can factory.
Every spare inch of cockpit is coated in the stuff, beautifully beaten and riveted into place with mean looking vents and weight-saving drill holes. Even the facia is finished in the same turned aluminium finish as a Bentley Continental T. It’s all cosmetic of course, for the effect is very convincing.
Slam the door shut and the infamous Mini clang echoes around the bare metal interior like a ricocheted bullet. You are wedged into a race seat with a four-point harness squeezing the breath out of your lungs. Your knees are wedged up against the back of the steering wheel in the traditional Mini driving style, only this time it‘s a red suede Sparco wheel, suffering from what appears to be a nasty case of acne. Buttons, lights and switches sprout from every spoke; two for the indicatiors, one for the wiper and another for the wiper and another for the headlight beam. This car is road legal, after all.
Then there‘s the starting procedure. A key would be nice, but far too conventional. A key would be nice, but far too conventional. An obliging engineer talks you through the rigmarole: insert the plastic kill switch, lift up the protective red cover, flick on the electrical system, power up the fuel pump, dab the throttle and push the dash-mounted strarter button. A series of small eruptions informs you that the beast is awake. Anf if “beast” seems an odd word to describe a 1.3-litre A series Mini engine, wait until you read the specification sheet. This little monster, which in standard form puts out 63bhp, has been turned to develop ne less than 160bhp at 7500rpm. It is specific output of 114bhp per litre makes even Ferrari F335’s 109bhp per litre look lazy. A race prepard 16-valve twin cam head, forged pistons, strengthened rods and a Weber Alpha fuel injection system perform the magic, along with a remapped engine management system and a “not-quite-straight-through” stainless steel exhaust.
It is the latest item which is responsible for the noise. Imagine a Caterham Superlight at fuel chat, being played over the PA system of an Oasis gig, with you sitting inside the speaker box, and you get some idea of the volume. Five straight-cut gears and an exposed gate add to the cacophony, whining, crunching and clacking their way through a full repertoire of race car impressions.
At low speeds it is an absolute brute. The cera-metallic clutch is painfully heavy : each gear change is an awkward balancing act between delicate clutch control and committed gear throws, but even this is nothing compared to the steering, Reducing the ratio down to two turns lock to lock and fitting a limited slip differential has made the steering so painfully heavy thet T-junctions are serious road obstacles.
Nothing makes sense until you find somewhere clear enough to open up the throttle. Below 5000rpm the engine is merely evil ? but above it, all four horses of the apocalypse come charging into the fray. Equal length drive shafts are intended to reduce torque steer, but with this much grunt they never really stand a chance. The fat little wheels grab at every surface and camber change, wrenching the wheel through your hands and threatening to spit you off the road at the slightest sign of weakness.
Lose concentration for an instant and you will miss an apex ? or worse.
A zero to 60mph time of under six seconds and a top gear that pulls 16mph per 100rpm means you will be grabbing a fresh ratio every couple of seconds. There’s no time for half-hearted manoeuvres :just dip the clutch and bang it through, listening for that reassuring click as the lever smacks into the end of the gate.
Your only enemy now is the road. Bumps are the real danger. The suspension and dampers are largely unchanged, but they are plenty stiff enough to bounce you around on the seat, loosening your grip on the wheel. Not to mention reality.
Find the right road, muster up your strength, plug your ears, remove your brain, and totally immerse yourself in the whole experience. A quarter of an hour later ? for, in reality, that is all that most people are physically capable of ? you will emerge from ear to ear, bathed in swear and frantically searching for JKD’s telephone number. Either that or flicking through the latest issue of Yachting Monthly.
FACTFILE
0-60mph 5.8sec
Top Speed 120mph
Combined mpg n/a
ENGINE
Layout 4 cyl in line,1380cc
Max power 160bhp at 7500rpm
Max torque 120lb ft at 6200rpm
Power to weight ratio 224bhp per tonne
Installation Front, transverse, front-wheel drive
made of Aluminium head and iron block
Bore/stroke 37.5/81.3mm
Compression ratio 10 : 1
Valve gear 4 per cyl, dohc
Ignition and fuel Weber Alpha fuel injection,electronic ignition
Gearbox 5speed manual
CHASSIS
Suspension Wishboune
Steering Rack & pinion, 2.0turns lock to lock
Wheels 13 x 5.5J Aluminium alloy
Tyres 175/50 VR13 Dunlop
BMW社製ニュー・ミニのプロトタイプ発表時に 当社・英国マーズ・スピードが手がけた「Mini Hot Rod（ミニ ホット ロッド）」が特別展示されましたが 英国他多くの諸外国でTV取材、雑誌取材されたにもかかわらず 当社では 日々の忙しい業務に終われ その資料をほとんど保存できていませんでした。 しかし この度 倉庫を整理していたところ 1997年10月発行の英国自動車マガジン「Autocar」の切抜きが出てきましたので ご紹介したいと思います。
Dynamite!
FIRST DRIVE
HOT ROD MIIt’s got to be the maddest Mini ever, a tiny terror packing a specific power output that makes a Ferrari F355 look a bit lame. By Hug Andreae
Bored with life? Sick to death of cars? Thinking of kicking it in and buying a yacht? Not until you’ve driven one of these. Nothing, I repeat nothing, will give you a thrill as intense as the Mini Hot Rod. It’s the silliest thing you’re ever likely to drive, not to mention the noisiest, fastest and most expensive. And I want one. Now.
Once you’ve parted with your ￡50,000 cheque, made payable to Mini road and race experts Jack Knight Developments Ltd, the experience starts ordinarily enough. From the outside it looks almost tame, like a conventional Cooper with a couple of slightly kitsch leather bonnet straps and a retro paint job. Open the driver’s door. However, and the illusion of normality falters. The normal Mini interior has been scrapped in favour of a massive steel roll bar, two bucket seats and enough aluminium sheeting to set up a Coke can factory.
Every spare inch of cockpit is coated in the stuff, beautifully beaten and riveted into place with mean looking vents and weight-saving drill holes. Even the facia is finished in the same turned aluminium finish as a Bentley Continental T. It’s all cosmetic of course, for the effect is very convincing.
Slam the door shut and the infamous Mini clang echoes around the bare metal interior like a ricocheted bullet. You are wedged into a race seat with a four-point harness squeezing the breath out of your lungs. Your knees are wedged up against the back of the steering wheel in the traditional Mini driving style, only this time it‘s a red suede Sparco wheel, suffering from what appears to be a nasty case of acne. Buttons, lights and switches sprout from every spoke; two for the indicatiors, one for the wiper and another for the wiper and another for the headlight beam. This car is road legal, after all.
Then there‘s the starting procedure. A key would be nice, but far too conventional. A key would be nice, but far too conventional. An obliging engineer talks you through the rigmarole: insert the plastic kill switch, lift up the protective red cover, flick on the electrical system, power up the fuel pump, dab the throttle and push the dash-mounted strarter button. A series of small eruptions informs you that the beast is awake. Anf if “beast” seems an odd word to describe a 1.3-litre A series Mini engine, wait until you read the specification sheet. This little monster, which in standard form puts out 63bhp, has been turned to develop ne less than 160bhp at 7500rpm. It is specific output of 114bhp per litre makes even Ferrari F335’s 109bhp per litre look lazy. A race prepard 16-valve twin cam head, forged pistons, strengthened rods and a Weber Alpha fuel injection system perform the magic, along with a remapped engine management system and a “not-quite-straight-through” stainless steel exhaust.
It is the latest item which is responsible for the noise. Imagine a Caterham Superlight at fuel chat, being played over the PA system of an Oasis gig, with you sitting inside the speaker box, and you get some idea of the volume. Five straight-cut gears and an exposed gate add to the cacophony, whining, crunching and clacking their way through a full repertoire of race car impressions.
At low speeds it is an absolute brute. The cera-metallic clutch is painfully heavy : each gear change is an awkward balancing act between delicate clutch control and committed gear throws, but even this is nothing compared to the steering, Reducing the ratio down to two turns lock to lock and fitting a limited slip differential has made the steering so painfully heavy thet T-junctions are serious road obstacles.
Nothing makes sense until you find somewhere clear enough to open up the throttle. Below 5000rpm the engine is merely evil ? but above it, all four horses of the apocalypse come charging into the fray. Equal length drive shafts are intended to reduce torque steer, but with this much grunt they never really stand a chance. The fat little wheels grab at every surface and camber change, wrenching the wheel through your hands and threatening to spit you off the road at the slightest sign of weakness.
Lose concentration for an instant and you will miss an apex ? or worse.
A zero to 60mph time of under six seconds and a top gear that pulls 16mph per 100rpm means you will be grabbing a fresh ratio every couple of seconds. There’s no time for half-hearted manoeuvres :just dip the clutch and bang it through, listening for that reassuring click as the lever smacks into the end of the gate.
Your only enemy now is the road. Bumps are the real danger. The suspension and dampers are largely unchanged, but they are plenty stiff enough to bounce you around on the seat, loosening your grip on the wheel. Not to mention reality.
Find the right road, muster up your strength, plug your ears, remove your brain, and totally immerse yourself in the whole experience. A quarter of an hour later ? for, in reality, that is all that most people are physically capable of ? you will emerge from ear to ear, bathed in swear and frantically searching for JKD’s telephone number. Either that or flicking through the latest issue of Yachting Monthly.
FACTFILE
0-60mph 5.8sec
Top Speed 120mph
Combined mpg n/a
ENGINE
Layout 4 cyl in line,1380cc
Max power 160bhp at 7500rpm
Max torque 120lb ft at 6200rpm
Power to weight ratio 224bhp per tonne
Installation Front, transverse, front-wheel drive
made of Aluminium head and iron block
Bore/stroke 37.5/81.3mm
Compression ratio 10 : 1
Valve gear 4 per cyl, dohc
Ignition and fuel Weber Alpha fuel injection,electronic ignition
Gearbox 5speed manual
CHASSIS
Suspension Wishboune
Steering Rack & pinion, 2.0turns lock to lock
Wheels 13 x 5.5J Aluminium alloy
Tyres 175/50 VR13 Dunlop
