I found this about a truly astonishing Mini on Autotrader website, there is a link to photos at the end. To celebrate 50 years of the Mini, Vijay Pattni looks at a modified Mini monster – the 500bhp ‘Fireballed’ version.I bet Issigonis never saw this one coming – more power than the new Nissan GT-R?
Californian tuner ‘Fireballed Tim Racing’ is a custom Hollywood designer who creates bespoke beasts for movies and petrolheads. The crazy Californian has built this black-bodied beast nicknamed the ‘Widow’.
The modified Mini Cooper S still uses its original 1.6-litre petrol engine but that’s probably where the comparison ends. Tuner Tim wanted to “understand the limits of the car and where we could push it”. - And boy has he pushed it.
In true tuner style Tim set about unplugging the ‘bottlenecks’ of the standard car’s 1.6-litre unit.
For those of you who understand, he fitted a higher flowing head, intake manifold and fuel system, to create a system to install a Garrett GT3071R turbocharger, while a 75mm throttle body was installed for better airflow, and a water-to-air intercooler to help reduce the charge temperatures.
In reality, this engineering hocus-pocus has resulted in a simply astonishing 478bhp – the same as the Nissan GT-R.But because the ‘Widow’ would likely see a lot of action – or abuse – on the drag strip, Tim and his team installed a 75bhp shot of nitrous oxide. Which means this Mini monster pushes out more BHP than a BMW M5 and falls just shy of a Lamborghini Gallardo’s 560bhp.
Wow a Mini – with the same power as a Lambo.
We’re already sold, despite how the raucous ‘daily-driver’ even begins to think about putting the power down. Apparently, Tim installed a race-spec Quaife limited slip differential together with a stronger clutch and flywheel to handle the faintly absurd power output.
Surely, that much power spinning the front wheels of a Mini would simply result in a big smile before a big bang?
Thankfully, Tim’s attended to the suspension too, fitting Bilstein PSS9 coilovers, a front anti-roll bar and lower front strut brace, among others. Ireland Engineering was called in to supply brakes big enough to stop the monster Mini, and the ‘Widow’ rolls on 18-inch tasty-looking rims.
No word on performance, but we wouldn’t want to end up in a tussle with this bad boy.“It’s the last car you want to deal with on the street”, explains Tim. “It’ll ruin you.”
View images of the 500bhp 'Widow' Mini:http://www.autotrader.co.uk/EDITORIAL/slideshow/staticslideshow.html?total_image=15{RDhref+}image_start_name=fireballed_mini_{RDhref+}caption=Fireballed%20Mini%20Cooper{RDhref+}folder_name=fireballed_mini{RDhref+}slidePageType=features
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