The three are separated by less than one second.
Although small cars are not made by automakers anymore, we still have models such as the Toyota GR86 or Mazda MX-5 Miata. These are enthusiast vehicles, but they lack practicality. But that’s where a car such as the three-door Mini Cooper SE is useful. The hatch makes it small, but the car is a lot more functional. Can it compete with two sports cars? The Fast Lane Car has a new video that attempts to answer this question.
The Toyota GR86 The power advantage is greater than the other two. The Subaru-sourced, 2.4-liter boxer engine produces 228 horsepower (170 Kilowatts) as well as 184 pound-feet (249 Newton meters) of torque. This engine is more powerful than the MX-5 Miata Radio a direct competitor. The Mazda A smaller, 2.0-liter inline four engine produces 181 horsepower (134 kW), and 151 lbft (204 Nm).
The Mini Cooper SE is somewhere in the middle of both. The Mini Cooper SE has a slightly higher horsepower than the Miata but more torque than the Toyota. It gets 199 lb-ft (269KW) from the electric motor which powers the front wheels.
This race is dominated by the Mini, a three-door hatchback that sits among two affordable rear-wheel drive sports cars. The Mini finishes the quarter-mile fastest of all three. The Toyota finishes the race in 15.67 seconds at 91.0 mph (146 km/h). At 92.1 mph (148 km/h), the Toyota came in second place at 16.14 seconds. Although the Mazda finished third, it was not far behind the Toyota at 86.8 MPH (139 km/h) in 16.4 seconds.
Although the Mini Cooper SE is not a direct competitor to the Toyota GR86 or Mazda MX-5 Miata on the drag strip, its all-electric powertrain has enough power to make it a strong contender. The Mini was able to get a solid start from the line. It would be interesting to compare the Mini to the other two cars on a racetrack, where suspension tuning or weight may emphasize their differences more than in straight-line drag racing.