As the owner of an R53 MINI Cooper S this clip is music to my ears. If there’s one thing I would love to do it would be to drive my own car around the Nordschleife. Watching this footage is probably as close as I will get. The unmistakable induction sound from the supercharger sings a tune that is hard to top. The noise from the semi-slick tyres lets you know this driver means business. And, then there’s the bridge to gantry time recorded, very tidy. I love this clip!

However, for me, the thing that stands out the most is the commitment shown by the driver in the higher speed parts of the track, especially Kesselchen. It might look pretty straightforward on screen but you need maximum faith in your car and maximum confidence in your own abilities to attack those parts of the track with such vigour.

I’ve been able to find out a little about the mods on this car, and while I can’t speak with absolute conviction my understanding is the car is pushing out close to 260bhp (roughly 195kW), courtesy of the usual pulley reduction, cold air intake and exhaust mods. Those mods would typically get you to around 200bhp, a decent set of aftermarket headers should bump the power to around 210-220bhp. So to get the car to the power figures I’ve been told more in depth modifications are required and this MINI has an uprated cylinder head, more efficient intercooler among many other mods no doubt.

I hope you get as much enjoyment from this clip as I do. 8)

Note: For a more on MINIs at the Ring, check out this piece from the MotoringFile archives.