This is just stupid:



To which Porsche replied:

Quote :

"Dear Jim, Imagine our surprise to discover our former employee, now the head of Mini, has challenged us to a head-to-head race. As you surely know, Porsche has a long history of racing success, with more than 28,000 wins over the last 60 years. In our early days, we pitted ourselves against the giants, so we've been in your shoes. But as you also know, Porsche doesn't race for fame, stunts or publicity. We race to challenge ourselves; we race to push sports car technology; we race to translate every win on the track to our cars on the road. If you need a reminder of our intent, please take a look at this short video: http://tinyurl.com/37xdjqx While your challenge seems like a fun and lighthearted campaign, we'll stick to racing the way we have over the decades. We welcome you at Sebring, Le Mans, Daytona or any other sanctioned race where there is more at stake than T-shirts and valet parking spaces. We also invite you to any of the thousands of tracks around the world where Porsche owners compete each weekend. Good luck with your race at Road Atlanta on June 21; we hope you enjoy the day. Sincerely, Detlev Von Platen President and CEO, Porsche Cars North America"

If anyone wants to embed the youtube video feel free.

[Edited on June 11, 2010 at 1:12 PM. Reason : error]

6/11/2010 1:11:12 PM

Oh snap. That's fucking comical right there. I'm intrigued.

6/11/2010 2:20:53 PM

I don't get it. What's the gimmick or joke or whatever? Obviously a 911 S will rape a Mini Cooper straight in the tailpipe.

This isn't some sort of classic underdog story in the making...it's like Richard Simmons challenging Mike Tyson to a boxing match. It's an invitation for a killing, unless there's some sort of gimmick involved.

[Edited on June 11, 2010 at 3:19 PM. Reason : ]

6/11/2010 3:11:46 PM

I imagine there is a gimmick, especially since they list the length of each car, which I don't see as directly relevant to performance in any way. MINIs are great cars, and fun to drive, but if anything Road Atlanta as such a horsepower track wouldn't be the place to challenge a car with such superior power to weight (and high speed aerodynamics).

6/11/2010 4:06:37 PM

They are FWD. To hell with them. I kinda expect that even a Cooper S would get mauled by every car in the Porsche lineup, and plus some of the hotter SUVs.

(although, of all FWD shit on the market, I loathe Mini less, as at least it was similarly wrongly configured when it was originally introduced in the 60s. At least they haven't taken a step backwards like so many other cars.)

6/11/2010 4:17:28 PM

I honestly think its a parallel parking competition from the wording (super gay).

There isn't a single car in Porsche's lineup that won't leave a MINI (any MINI) in the dust on any course but save a few tight autox tracks. Even a base Porsche Boxster from 1997 (in all its 201hp glory) would leave it behind.

6/11/2010 4:23:11 PM

I bet it's a race that ends with a parallel park.

6/11/2010 4:52:56 PM

^^yeah, a parking competition is the first thing I thought...but what's all this about Road Atlanta?

The only thing is that stupid Mini fanboys and unwashed retard consumers already view Mini as a performance marque, and this campaign only contributes to their irrationality. I just want to see Porsche lay waste to it, in an utterly embarrassing, catastrophic, savage beatdown.

^ ah, that's a plausible gimmick. it had better be a pretty tight parallel park if Mini wants a chance.

...but still, let 'em have the parallel parking contest. Shit, let 'em win the entire event if that's what it is. I just want to watch the carnage around the circuit. If the CEO of Mini wants to celebrate such a pyrrhic "victory" with a T-shirt, let him.

[Edited on June 11, 2010 at 4:58 PM. Reason : ]

[Edited on June 11, 2010 at 4:59 PM. Reason : ]

6/11/2010 4:53:38 PM

To TKE and Duke:

I bet a Mini Cooper JCW would beat a base Cayenne on most tracks!!

6/11/2010 5:16:04 PM

haha

that's why I said "most of the hotter SUVs", to account for the base Cayenne, and maybe the "S".

[Edited on June 11, 2010 at 5:25 PM. Reason : either way, talk about damning with faint praise, haha!]

6/11/2010 5:24:53 PM

That reminds me of this, because it HAS to be something similar to it:

Quote :

"The Fiesta beats the Lambo Gallardo at everything but straight line, including at CORNERING!!! You gotta get a Fiesta now! Fiesta ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poWNPlLyoNI "

**********************************************************************

Anyway, Mini's boss responds:

Video: Mini responds to Porsche, still ready to race
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrFCWq8vm_4

Quote :

"We'll be honest – we were rather excited to see how a race between a Mini Cooper S and Porsche 911 Carrera S would go down. After Mini initially challenged Porsche to a trackday showdown at Road Atlanta on June 21, Porsche declined, saying that it will "stick to racing the way we have over the decades," and welcomed Mini to attend any sanctioned race where "there is more at stake than t-shirts and valet parking spaces." Mini has had a very impressive response to this challenge, and isn't giving up. Mini USA boss Jim McDowell has issued yet another message to Porsche Cars North America CEO Detlev Von Platen saying that they're willing to raise the stakes, offering prizes such as Justin Bieber concert tickets (including backstage passes!), a lifetime membership to the Salami Of The Month club or even a (slightly used) home gym, among other things. Excellent. We love Mini's enthusiasm over this whole event, and as we understand, Mini is even flying a banner plane over Porsche's Atlanta, Georgia headquarters with the message "Dear Porsche, Bring it. Love, Mini." Seriously. You can keep up with the whole back-and-forth on Mini USA's Facebook page. In any case, with only one week until the supposed race day, we hope Porsche will saddle up for this duel, even though Mini hasn't specified what the Road Atlanta challenge(s) will be (it could be an egg-carrying race for all we know) and Stuttgart really doesn't appear to have much to gain by picking on the little kid."

And more:

Video: Mini continues to milk Porsche challenge with amusing Rocky-style training film
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/f4eab00bc2/mini-rocky-iv

6/18/2010 5:24:40 PM

the mini guy looks all butt-hurt

reminds me of 16 yo kids wanting to race everything, just to see how close it will be

6/18/2010 5:28:05 PM

You MUST watch the video... his t-shirt seamlessly changes 4 times in the video (i.e., 4 different printed sayings).

And they are all funny, like the one you see in the pic

6/18/2010 5:32:00 PM

Hyundai wants in... Oh goodness...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y03WZ6hhzWI

[Edited on June 18, 2010 at 6:25 PM. Reason : ..]

6/18/2010 6:24:35 PM

this is pretty funny. i really enjoyed the rocky video. hyundai needs to gtfo though, no one cares about hyundai.

6/18/2010 8:31:21 PM

^^^ Seemlessly changes? They cut away from him and cut back to him wearing a different shirt. Are you amazed by the "realism" in 80's horror movies also?

Also, fuck mini. I'd much rather see the Mini / Hyundai race than any kind of retardation that Mini can think of with Porsche. The best outcome for Porsche is looking like a fool for actually taking the challenge and then getting there and dealing with whatever stupid stunt Mini is trying to pull.

6/18/2010 9:06:39 PM

i said seamless because of how glaringly non-seamless it was... forgot to put quotes around it: "seamless".

6/18/2010 9:15:37 PM

zomg volvo challenges porsche too!

[Edited on June 18, 2010 at 9:36 PM. Reason : ]

6/18/2010 9:34:07 PM

Quote :

"hyundai needs to gtfo though, no one cares about hyundai."

actually, many people care about it...

they make a world-class sports car, and their new sedans are extremely good compared to the previous iterations and give some tough competition to the japs. i drove the new 2011 6-sp sonata and goddamn the 6-sp in that car shifted almost as beautifully as the 6-sp in my friend's 2008 cayman S. and the dash is a geek's wet dream (something you would expect in a $50,000 car, not a $20,000 car).

6/18/2010 9:41:34 PM

^ shouldn't you be cleaning some Saudi's toilet houseboy?

6/18/2010 11:01:54 PM

^^the genesis coupe is a world class sports car?

6/18/2010 11:58:13 PM

^lol, agreed. Genesis =/ sports car.

Quote :

"zomg volvo challenges porsche too!"

Yeah, my Honda whipped up on a few Caymans, Boxsters and 911 Turbos last time I was at the track

6/19/2010 12:42:38 AM

Fine, call it a world class GT coupe.

Quote :

"^ shouldn't you be cleaning some Saudi's toilet houseboy?"

Oh look, 69 is back... why won't you die?

**********************************************************************

The whole thing could be followed here:

http://www.facebook.com/MINIUSA

You’re Invited to Road Atlanta for MINI vs Porsche



Anybody in Atlanta should go. Entrance is free, food is free, and you get free track time! Should be good for a laugh.

MINI is totally determined to go ahead with this... they are even providing a 911 to race with!

Quote :

"Wanna be a part of history? MINI USA is inviting MINI fans to watch the MINI vs Porsche race this Monday June 21st at Road Atlanta. However there’s a catch; there’s only room for 400 people on a first come first served basis. It gets better. If you come to the event and register, you also get track time. Free track time and you get to see the much hyped MINI vs Porsche. Not bad for the price of free. For those interested in making the trip all you have to do is be at Road Atlanta for the guest check-in and track time sign-up from 3:30 to 4:30 (you may want to get there sooner to make sure you get a spot). From there the schedule follows accordingly: 4:30-6:30 Dinner and Track time 6:30 Pre-race festivities 7:00 Race followed by award ceremony 7:10-8:00 Post-race celebration But wait, how does MINI get Porsche there after they’ve publicly declined? Easy, invite anyone who owns a Porsche to race. MINI is even providing the Porsche 911 Carrera S."

6/19/2010 7:19:09 AM

Quote :

"I imagine there is a gimmick, especially since they list the length of each car, which I don't see as directly relevant to performance in any way."

To be fair, if the campaign is all about valet parking spots then the Mini's shorter overall length makes it easier to parallel park, which could be vital to a valet

6/19/2010 8:35:53 AM

^^^^^^^
i feel like i have been grossly misrepresented here....
aren't the last two pictures supposed to be in the opposite order?

6/19/2010 11:50:53 AM

this thread is about 'challenging' porsche, not about reality.









[Edited on June 19, 2010 at 12:00 PM. Reason : ]

6/19/2010 11:56:40 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OTG6j_t-gI
here's a vid of the guy who volunteered to drive the porsche, not a slouch.

6/19/2010 11:59:51 AM

reminds me of a picture i took

6/19/2010 1:49:30 PM

Mini reveals track for Porsche challenge, not really Road Atlanta

Quote :

"Last we checked, Road Atlanta was a famed professional 2.54-mile racetrack, not an oversized autocross layout on a training skidpad. Somebody may need to remind Mini USA, as the maker of famously small cars has just announced the "track" (their word, not ours) for its overly-publicized "Rumble on the Racetrack" (their title, not ours) challenge pitting the Mini Cooper S against the race-bred Porsche 911 Carrera S. While Mini promises "No tricks. No gimmicks. No jokes" in its latest Facebook post, the map of the so-called challenge track autocross is nothing more than a few hundred cones dropped on the "School Course & Training Area" located in the infield of Road Atlanta by turns 6 and 7 (this is hardly the same asphalt that hosts cars like the Corvette C6.R, Porsche RS Spyder, Ferrari 430GT and Audi R10 TDI at the Petit Le Mans). With the big shindig scheduled for Monday (with or without an official Porsche showing), this event has gone from entertaining to mildly disappointing. We don't need to explain to any of our readers that a Mini Cooper S is as comfortable on a loop-de-doo autocross course as Porsche is, well... on the winner's podium at Road Atlanta. Mini has yet to answer the challenge from Hyundai (the Koreans were kind enough to offer to take Porsche's vacant spot on the grid), but they had better get on it. With a track autocross this tight, they should be expecting a call from Smart first thing Monday morning. "

SO....

Can a Cooper S really beat the Carrera S on this track autocross, or come very close to it, like a couple of seconds behind?

6/20/2010 7:09:18 PM

^no.

6/20/2010 8:26:34 PM

stupid

6/20/2010 10:49:32 PM

Quote :

"actually, many people care about it... they make a world-class sports car, and their new sedans are extremely good compared to the previous iterations and give some tough competition to the japs. i drove the new 2011 6-sp sonata and goddamn the 6-sp in that car shifted almost as beautifully as the 6-sp in my friend's 2008 cayman S. and the dash is a geek's wet dream (something you would expect in a $50,000 car, not a $20,000 car)."

Nobody in civilized countries cares about it.

6/21/2010 12:05:06 AM

watched the short race, my thoughts, ~.

6/21/2010 11:06:26 PM

Quote :

"In the over-hyped and ridiculous contrived "race" between the Mini Cooper and the Porsche 911, a victor has been crowned, and as you'd expect, the blokes from BMW had their bumpers handed to them. Despite creating a "track" at the infield of Road Atlanta designed to maximize the Mini's potential and neuter the high-speed prowess of the Porsche, the Cooper still lost the battle by a full two seconds. Naturally, Mini likes to point out that the difference was $38,000 a second, but to anyone paying attention, the additional $76k is money well spent... particularly on a real track. Maybe Mini should've reconsidered Hyundai's offer... Hit the jump for the race and two introductory videos, including a thoroughly comical explanation about why Mini opted for an autocross track and not the full course at Road Atlanta."

6/21/2010 11:32:40 PM

Joe Rogan must be pretty bored these days.

6/22/2010 12:43:57 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdWpRTtwFwY

There ya go. For those who haven't seen it and were curious...

6/22/2010 1:10:56 AM

lol, so mini called out porche, created a course that maximized their strengths, and still got beat down.

mini pwnt, marketing fail.

6/22/2010 8:45:16 AM

^not really a fail. they got a ton of people talking about the mini brand over the last couple weeks.

that being said...

mini pwnt, stay home.

also, NOC hyundai.

6/22/2010 10:41:34 AM

^good point.

still,

mini pwnt, stay home.

the best part, its a self pwnt, because they started it.

[Edited on June 22, 2010 at 10:59 AM. Reason : Raleigh pwnt, stay home. Call TWW for details.]

6/22/2010 10:58:22 AM

Mini failed pretty miserably ... For the price, the mini is bad bargain anyways. Wouldn't buy one if I had the money.

6/22/2010 12:16:11 PM

what kind if idiot thinks this was anything other than a PR stunt? mini won a ton of free press.

6/22/2010 1:02:28 PM

the press wasn't really free

value-priced or price-to-move press, maybe

6/22/2010 1:33:42 PM

its certainly better than any car ad on tv

6/22/2010 2:19:57 PM

true

6/22/2010 2:29:51 PM

While I won't argue that there's been exposure from this "event" it wasn't mainstream and I'd even go out on a limb and say outside of the automotive circles nobody even knew about this. My roommates didn't. I doubt my parents did.

And if only people in automotive circles saw it (for the most part) then they'd know how stupid it is as well.

6/22/2010 2:41:12 PM

my friend, who owns a 911, sent out a mass email trying to keep everyone up on the LOLs

I fought the urge to send the [OLD] reply to all



[Edited on June 22, 2010 at 3:03 PM. Reason : s]

6/22/2010 3:03:04 PM

Any public shaming of anything FWD is a good thing in my book.

They should've had a 4-S, too...that would've really made for a beatdown.

6/22/2010 3:04:44 PM

Now if Ford would challenge Mini to have a 2011 Mustang GT run their Mini Cooper Works edition on a full road course we might see something worth watching. They're both ~$30k cars, right?

[Edited on June 22, 2010 at 4:45 PM. Reason : s]

6/22/2010 4:43:25 PM

^yeah they're both about $30k. But something worth watching? Not a chance, lol.

6/23/2010 8:20:43 AM