The MINI Cooper B-Spec racer. Image: BMW AG
If you want to race cars beyond the ChumpCar, LeMons and SCCA Improved Touring levels, B-Spec may be the most affordable way to turn a wheel in anger. Sanctioned by the SCCA, Grand Am, NASA, and World Challenge, B-Spec is essentially a showroom stock series that pits subcompact automobiles from Honda, Ford, Mazda, Kia (and now MINI) against one another in evenly-matched competition. Engines are left stock, but modified suspensions, brakes, wheels and tires are allowed.
MINI has recently announced that it’s building a car for B-Spec competition, too. Based on the MINI Cooper (and not the Cooper S), the turnkey racer will only make 121 horsepower from a normally aspirated 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine, but comes with a KW coilover suspension, front camber plates, Carbotech brake pads, braided stainless brake lines and lightweight Kosei wheels with series-specified Hoosier tires. Inside, the car comes with a driver’s racing seat, a harness, window and cage nets and a full roll cage.
The MINI Cooper B-Spec racer. Image: BMW AG
MINI will sell the B-Spec cars through its dealer in Charleston, SC, since that’s also who’s building them. Pricing hasn’t been announced, but we’d expect the cars to sell in the $30,000 range, which makes B-Spec one of the more affordable pro racing series on the planet. MINI is offering up contingency money for a podium finish, too, but they have worked out all the details on their program yet. The B-Spec MINIs will be available prior to the start of the 2012 racing season.
Kurt Ernst has been passionate about automobiles and driving nearly his entire life. His early years were shaped working in the family service station, though his real passion was auto racing. After graduating from the University of Colorado, Kurt spent a year club racing with the Sports Car Club of America, before focusing on a business career in marketing and project management. Later, his passion for writing and the automotive hobby found him freelancing for a variety of automotive news sites, including Automotive Addicts and Motor Authority, where his work was syndicated and appeared in several national publications. Recognized as an expert in the automotive field, Kurt joined Hemmings Motor News as an Associate Editor in 2013, and in the years since has progressed to Editor, Hemmings Daily; Managing Editor for Hemmings Motor News, Hemmings Classic Car, Hemmings Muscle Machines, and the Hemmings Daily; and now, Managing Editor, Hemmings Auctions. Kurt was instrumental in organizing the Hemmings Motor News Concours d’Elegance from 2013-2019, and has served as a judge at this event and The Vintage Racing Stable Concours d’Elegance. A Skip Barber Racing School graduate and prolific writer, Ernst is also skilled in copyediting, project management, brand development, and public relations.
