Performance MINI August/September 2022

Sun’s out, MINIs out, right?! I hate that I always seem to be talking about the weather in these intros, but honestly, it’s a British thing, isn’t it? We love talking about the weather; it seems to dominate our lives, perhaps because it’s so unpredictable on our little island and when it’s good, wow, do we jump on that and make the most of it. And as car enthusiasts, good weather gives us the perfect opportunity to take our cars out. I’m not talking about garage queens, either, because where’s the fun in driving any car around in the rain? Going for a drive on a sunny day is sure to put a smile on your face, and if you’re driving a MINI, that smile might be a little bit…

MINIs seem to stir people’s emotions more than the average hatchback. We’ve never heard of anyone remortgaging their house to rebuild a Renault Clio, for example, but we’ve met someone who did just that for their GP2. We’d also never heard of any man brave enough to carjack his wife’s dream car and live to tell the tale, but then we spoke with Andy Jones, who is now unquestionably the owner of this very fine Cooper S. “My wife had always wanted a Cooper, ” Andy explains, “and I thought why not go for the supercharged big brother? So I started to do some searching around for her.” Initially looking for one in Electric blue, or so called Lady Blue in some circles, Andy drew a blank until he broadened…

SCORPION MINI CHALLENGE SAFETY CAR 2022 As Scorpion enters its eighth consecutive year being a Technical Partner to the BMW MINI Challenge race series, it is pleased to announce its new 2022 MINI Clubman Safety Car, which will support the series throughout 2022. This Shadow Edition MINI Cooper S features a prototype 70mm/2.75” GPF-back system that has been through extensive track testing alongside the company’s twin high-performance 100mm Carbon Ascari tailpipes. When available in late August 2022, the system will come as four interchangeable performance upgrades, which are designed to enhance the various stages of tuning throughout the life of the vehicle. The 2022 colour scheme will ensure that the safety car will not be lost in the crowd and will be as prominent in the paddock as on track.…

MEGUIAR’S DUO TWIST DRYING TOWEL £27.50 You may think you’ve nailed washing your car, but you’ve also got to use the proper products to dry it, and when it comes to drying towels, you can’t do better than the Meguiar’s Duo Twist Drying Towel. This is Meguiar’s most effective and best-performing drying towel, thanks to its 1200gsm microfibre construction. Duo Twist microfibres make this the company’s most absorbent (and ultra-soft) drying towel yet, and this huge, 50x90cm, thick and plush towel will make light work of drying your car, effortlessly absorbing water from all surfaces. www.meguiars.co.uk KENWOOD KTC-500DAB DAB AND BLUETOOTH RECEIVER £60.00 We can’t think of a more costeffective way of retrofitting the digital revolution that is DAB directly into your pride and joy than this box of tricks…

There’s nothing wrong with mundanity if that’s your bag. Some people just don’t want the hassle of thinking about things too much, so they go with the mainstream and move on to the next decision. These are the people who paint the interior walls of their houses in default magnolia to save choosing a colour. They stick on a bit of Coldplay when they’ve got mates round because they just want a generic background noise they can ignore; who pave over their gardens because flowers and shrubs require decisions to be made. Their lives are simple, uncluttered. They’re also not very interesting, though, are they? Where’s the satisfaction in living an unremarkable life, never having the imagination to rock the boat? You’ve got to roll the dice a little, do…

After cutting his teeth modifying Ford RS and Cosworth models while working for the Hendy Ford Rally Team, and having a Mk1 Fiesta as his first car, you might think Nigel Marsh was destined for modifying future fast blue-oval models. So why did this Ford fan end up owning and building this MINI track car? Well, Nigel admits his admiration of the firstgeneration grew from running a garage (Engine Evolution), which specialises in them. “Lots of customers started needing theirs fixing, some wanting them modified. I enjoyed the challenge and decided to make my own, ” he tells us as we chat, and a damaged R50 Cooper Challenge car quickly followed. “I used to work in a bodyshop, so we got it in and repaired it – or so we…