Autoblog

Mitsubishi will no longer be absent from the starting grid of the SCCA Speed World Challenge with the new WORKS-prepared SWC Lancer race car. The tuning company that specializes in tweaking EVOs, in a partnership with Mitsubishi North America, will be hitting the racetracks next year against Mazda, BMW, Audi, and more with two-time U.S. Touring Car champion David Brown behind the wheel. The car received new front and rear coilovers, two-piece rotors with Brembo calipers, a racing clutch and flywheel, and a fully built Mitsubishi inline-4 among other racing necessities. Pending its final homologation, it will race the full 2008 season in the Touring Car class. Follow the jump for the full details in the press release.

[Source: WORKS]

John Cooper Works is the British tuning garage that created the original '61 Mini Cooper as a sportier version of the base model. So when BMW revived the MINI, they turned to the same garage, now headed by the founder's son Mike, to create a hotter new MINI. And with the release of the newer new MINI, John Cooper Works has come out with a series of enhancements to make the hot little hatch even hotter.

Buyers looking to raise the temperature on their new Cooper or Cooper S can opt for a wide array of extra bits. Up front there's a more aerodynamic front bumper, blacked-out grilles and carbon fiber air-scoop for the hood. Other carbon fiber bits include the tailgate handle and side mirrors. Around the back, buyers can opt for a "diffuser-style" rear bumper and a raised wing spoiler off the back of the roof. In between there are lower side sills and 19" rims in a variety of finishes, which join a polished-metal brace under the hood to improve handling and beefier brakes for added stopping power. Inside buyers can specify shift indicator lights, checkered-flag floormats, special sill plates and racing buckets.

All the parts are dealer-installed and come under the full factory warranty, so you don't have to worry about voiding the papers like with other aftermarket bits. Unfortunately they won't be available until 2008, a delay which would be expected from an independent aftermarket tuning house, but given the direct partnership with the manufacturer, you'd figure they'd have the parts ready closer to launch.

(More pics after the jump)

[Source: Auto Express]

Now we've seen some interesting races before, but this is something new: the Team Australia Speed Comparison, to be held in conjunction with the Lexmark Indy 300 later this month in Australia, will pit a MINI against a Porsche and a Champ Car.

The John Cooper Works MINI Cooper S packs a supercharged 1.6-liter four with 210 hp and runs 0-60 in 6.6 seconds; the 400-hp Porsche 911 GT3 reaches 60 in 3.2 seconds; and the Champ Car, packing a 750-hp Cosworth V8, will hit it in a cant 2.2 seconds. Sounds like a fight about as fair as David and Goliath, with The Rock thrown in for good measure.

Of course it's not a straight-up race, or anybody could predict the outcome – it's a single-lap handicap race: the MINI will head out first, followed by the Porsche and then the Champ Car. The starts are timed according to the car's capabilities so that, technically, all three cars should cross the finish line at the same time.

Gentlemen, start your engines!

[Source: Auto Racing Daily]

Get the folks from the Counter Counterfeit Commission on the line. We just spotted another fake MINI. I guess the fakers aren't limited to North America either as this one showed up in Melbourne, Australia. Today's internet classified deal of the day brings us a "2004 Mini 'Ted Cooper Works' limited edition." We think some of the details might be a little off, but who can deny the appeal of a 4-door Cooper well ahead of the new Clubman's debut.

Obviously this poster was having a little fun with his advert. Ted Cooper? 2004? Is it even a Mini derivative? $27,000 seems a bit steep too, unless a few of those 'cheap Plasmas' are included in the deal. Still, this ad had us laughing (and scratching our heads trying to figure out what the pictured vehicle actually was) enough to pass it on to all of you. Any of you readers recognize what kind of car it is?

[Source: Drive.com.au]