Mini ATTACKS Mustang - Brilliant Historic Battle 

It’s nice seeing vintage and classic cars still racing

Mustang driver: "Who stuck a picture of a mini on my rear view mirror"

I love how close to the mustang he's willing to stick

Colin Chapman said: "Add more power and you'll be faster on straights, remove some wheight and you'll be faster everywhere" The mini follows thar principle when compared to the stang. Great racing, wonderful machines.

Mini: “I need more power!” Green Mustang: “You shall not pass!”

The agility vs power struggle usually boils down to the track layout. The number and length of straights vs curves.

That Mini is a bully to the Mustang. Awesome racing

In West Los Angeles in 1968 when I was a high school senior, a friend of mine owned a Mini Cooper he bought used and had tricked out. Nothing could catch him in the curves. I still remember the four velocity sticking up through a cut out in the hood and the four tennis balls he would close them off with when he parked. On Saturday nights from his parents place in Santa Monica we would head to the Sunset Strip in his car, driving Sunset's famous "Dead Man's Curve" behind UCLA. Corvettes, GTOs, Mustangs....lots of hot cars were always there heading to the Strip like us. Along that section of road my friend was always looking for muscle cars to race as there was nothing that came close to catching him and his Mini Cooper in the curves. But once the road straightened out he knew he was toast. So coming out of the curve and hitting the straightaway he quickly let off the gas, touched his brakes to briefly light them up to annoy the losing competitor, and with a winner's smile, waved at them as they were finally able to blasted past. A few of the cars would then slow down or wait at the next signal light and try to egg him into continuing. But he just savored his victory as the frustrated competition flipped him off, hit the gas hard and disappeared down the road.

There's nothing better than pushing a cooper Cooper s that hard. Owned two of them and the best fun ever on tight twisting New Zealand roads. My mates gt falcon had no hope on these roads against a mini. Great to watch, regards Steve.

The Lotus Cortina, Mini, and Mustang perfectly sum up the epicness of 60s British saloon car racing.

It's amazing how much faster you can get around a track when you don't have to worry about braking, shifting and feathering the throttle. Just lift a little before the turn, then pedal down when you get your line.

If you’ve never driven a mini then you’ve got to try it. Big smile on your face from start to finish.

There was no car on that track working harder then that Mini and its roller skate wheels. The lean on that bad boy was something to admire all on its own. Love all these cars!

how come no one mentioned that GODLY sound of the mustang yet? holy crap! amazing!

I recall watching the Saloon Car racing at Thruxton in the mid 70's. A similar scenario with Richard Lloyd and Stuart Graham in Chevy Camaro Z28s and and Andy Rouse in a Triumph Dolomite Sprint. The Camaros would power away in the early laps but the brakes would start to fade and the Dolomite would begin to catch up and generally pass the Camaro in the last couple of laps. Fascinating racing - much more interesting than F1

Memories of the 1960s in England. It was common to see a sticker on the back of mk. 1 Minis stating "You have just been mini-ed". Too many drivers got to see the little beasts passing them on the roads. They definitely did not take any prisoners.

I love how he was drafting him trying to go for the slingshot knowing that he didn't have the power. Just practicing. This man has future plans.

If only the mini had 15 horsepower more, it would tear those stangs apart haha

Just a splendid, splendid bit of motoring here! Thank you so much for filming and sharing! This is a textbook example of drivers who know their cars capabilities, know their personal capabilities as wheelmen and know the limitations of the surface, the conditions and the circuit. Each of these cars and drivers are showing there is more than one way to be fast. The American built iron V8 has phenomenal torque and pulls well off the corners and down the straights. The English built MINI has lightweight and superb grip and braking which allows the driver to brake later into turns and get back on the accelerator sooner. I would enjoy hearing what the final results are. The Mustang appeared to be the superior equipment but as the mighty MINI continued to press with lots of pressure from behind, especially on entry into those sweepers you could tell the Mustang was reacting to that pressure and was knocked off his game slightly. Continued pressure like that through the race or session may have allowed the MINI to prevail. Again, many thanks for this!

I heard that racing a Mini is the same as wrestling a bear cub in a telephone booth!

This is awesome, I spy a Lotus Cortina too. Love these old classics and good to see them racing at SMP and not at Goodwood like I usually do (i'm from the UK lol)

I love the snarl as they are powering out of the corners! What a fantastic sound!

Watching a mini terrorize a mustang is hilarious 😆. I need more of this!

Mustang: Flies in the straights, parks in the corners. Mini: Flies in the corners and parks in the straights.

Love this so much. Used to own a 1275 Cooper S. Brings back memories of harassing old V8's on the back roads of NZ.

What I see here is the Mini's driver is an absolute beast!

I love the old classic cars. The sound and smell of them tickles a part of me that's been asleep for a while now 😇

Oh my, the memories this brings back. Love that little mini.

I would have loved to see British Touring Car racing back in the day when the very first Mustangs were brought over and entered, kicking off the David and Goliath battles that would ensue. Also, I know this is about the Mini and the Mustang, but did you see how the Mini managed to hold off that Lotus Cortina? That is WILD.

Never underestimate the little guy 😎👍

Used to see these cars race at Green Valley in Texas. Always marveled at the minis. And the white car behind the mini in this video is a Ford Cortina with a Lotus engine. Awesome to watch them again.

That brings back memories from the 70’s with my dad. Always loved the Mini’s lifting their rear inside wheel on a sweep , vs the V8’s their front inside wheel.

Just the right amount of oversteer in that little monster, would LOVE to take it around the track :)

What you have to understand is the mini doesn't know it's smaller with less power. It's the Jack Russell in the car world, the true underdog, that believes it will win whatever the odds.

Karting distance from bumper . Love it. Had my karting years btw. Nailing the weight transfer and carrying the momentum was what it was all about. If you were 1 inch away on the exit it meant you weren't a problem that wouldn't go away.

The flying brick! Brings on a big smile! Slaying giants with less than 1300cc! Power-2-weight! Awesome racing video, please upload some more. Thank you!

I love seeing all the different colours of the classics on the hill, you wont see carparks like that these days

Decent tyres a mini can stick on a fridge door

Another mini driver who doesn't bother with his brakes. Just stick it into the corner and hang on. Awsome.

Loved watching the Mini's battling it out with the small Jag's at Brands Hatch back in the 1960. My brother built the last batch of Elva Couriers and looked after several V8 Maclaren Elva's so Brands was the place to be on Sundays.

Makes me appreciate my classic mini austin 🍺😎

Brilliant racing that man is raggin the shit out of that lil mini... Awesome stuff

That Stang sounded glorious but the mini's handling certainly showed him a thing or two! Unfortunate that the finish line was so far down that straight. Even if the mini could pass, it couldn't hold its place.

In the 60s, in Ontario at Mosport there was a driver named Bily Brack who chased the Comstock mustangs and did the same thing. Great to watch and cheer on.

Four wheel drifting the mini 👍😊👍

MAD SKILLS to the mini driver!

Whoever is behind the wheel of that mini is some driver!

That little thing blasts through those corners, it must be so fun to drive.

2:35 those Understeer's are Massive..

Every time I look in the mirror, that @^%$#(*!@ Mini is still there!

Limerock Park is where I'd see these battles. The Mustangs excelled in the straights and usually had enough ability to hold off the angry-bumblebee sounding Minis in the bends. I read something at the event that the compression ratio was like almost 13 to one on those Minis. It was great to see such a variety of cars racing together at the vintage fest they have every Labor Day weekend.

Total respect for the mini.

Love the original mini cooper

This Mini driver must have f**king big balls! Amazing race! I love the old times racing for such scenes.

the sum of all Mustang fears, the vicious mini creeping up in their review mirror 👀

Mini Cooper S won Bathurst outright in the late 60’s. Never underestimate them

Almost scared him into first place!

Some of the greatest battles in racing have been between these two cars. Especially on a tight track! I wonder what would have happened if mini had put on a blower. Things that make you go hmm!

Is there anything more graceful than well controlled lift-off oversteer? What a gem!

The Cortina leaning and oversteering in the turns brought back memories. I saw a guy in one dust off a 427 Cobra at RIR in the late 60’s. The Cobra was fast until the first turn taken at about 60 MPH, when about 40 MPH would have kept him out of the weeds and in the battle.

you could probably fit the mini inside the engine bay of the mustang lmfao

I had a MK2 in 1982, 12.01 quarter mile at Oran park, road tires and no limited slip, didn't she upset some people at the street drags lol

Having owned one back in the day I can only compare the mini‘s handling to a shopping trolley. An absolute blast to drive.

I'm seeing that cool Cosworth Cortina too... absolutely classic old cars 👍

2:37 got in front....

That wheelbase kicks butt in the corners. I saw a mini on the nubering and I want one now.

I used to love watching the races back in the 70's and 80's, for precisely this reason. They used to run all the classes at once, which lead to some amazing races. Then later in the 80's they changed it so different classes would run in different races, which lead to v8 racing taking dominance. Which to me took some of the soul out of it. It also meant the end of some drivers racing careers as their races no longer got any air time. Used to love watching the mixed classes at Bathurst, now that was fun. At least we have historic racing and the muscle car masters.

I saw a race just like this. A Cobra, Alpha, and a Mini. The old Continental Divide RaceWay. The Cobra and Alpha would get away from the Mini on the long front straight. But once they got into the first turn, there was the Mini. I don't think the Mini ever got out of the throttle.

I used to play a PC game called GT Legends, that had these events in it. I changed all of the music files to what I considered more appropriate. Themes from Bullit, The Sweeney, The Professionals and alike. They were played randomly and now and then it was a perfect match. Like when you were driving a Mini and the theme from The Italian Job came on.

"The GT on my Mustang is an emblem of invincibility. Can you keep up to READ IT?!"

The equivalent of a mouse hunting for a cat 😄 Awesome 👏

I didn’t want that to end. Amazing racing!

I love the Mustang sound, is fantastic 👍👍👍

Now that is a driver in the Mini, hats off!

That mini driver is a beast

That is some awesome footage 👍. All of the drivers were driving at a very good level.

Driver can teach a class on momentum driving. Awesome job!

These card are insanely quick. If you ever get a chance to see historia racing live, take it! 👍😎

Amazing how well the Mustang held on its own on tight turns, kudos to those who did the modifications and to the driver too able to stay cool throughout the race.

Man, talk about unexpected PRESSURE

Just like in one of those racing videogames, stage 1 on where the only option consist on making the curves your killing zone keeping the foot down as long as possible, no breaking at all looking to complete the most dynamic lap. Pure skill.

For years over here in Cape Town we had a guy in a Mazda R100 who would keep another in a Porsche on his toes like this. They'd usually be racing for the lead and a Mustang similar to this one, but probably not as tuned, would be left in the dust somewhere in the middle of the pack. That little R100 had the most beautiful squeal... 😍

Love the way the mini stuck it's self to the mustang.two of the best cars ever made.great clip.

Loved watching the Cooper 'S' Minis take on the Lotus Cortinas at Crystal Palace.

For those of you who are unaware the class of racing seen here is known as Appendix J. The cars are modified obviously, but any mods are period correct. So the Mustang would have the 289 ci in it, but without actually knowing that particular car I'd say it's got 4 downdraught webers on it. And the 289 certainly knows how to sing a sweet tune at high revs.

Awesome......reminds me a few years ago, I was on Hwy 9 in Georgia on my way back to Florida......I was driving a bone stock 2001 SVT Lightning and this guy had a newer Mini Coupe and tried to make a move on me......well, it was 0 Dark-thirty and I wasn't having any of that and if any of you know "Running Shine on Hwy 9" has lots of curves and straights.... I was leaving that little sucker in the wind on the straights and when I hit the curves he was right back on on me and I mean on me, and folks a Lightning can perform on both. This went on for miles. We finally gave up, stopped and talked an hour I bet.....That sucker was like a gnat on me.....NEVER underestimate a Mini Coupe......True Story.

The Mini is the horsefly that can’t get swatted away 😂😂😂😂😂

Fun cars the old models , as a young bloke I owned a warm 289 falcon and also a standard ish 😊68 morris mini with the 1000 cc engine , the little mini was great fun in the mountains , the little 289 was a good highway cruiser , it would sit on 90 mph all day long. A friend of the family had an original 1963 cooper S complete with factory flared guards . I don’t know if the gearing was different in the early coopers , but OMFG it was fast through the gears , he took me for a spin in it , I was hanging on for grim death😊, and he had a huge smile on his face.

Like a little horsefly back there, just hard to shake it off, and don't sleep on the Cortina either. Great stuff!

Hey, don't forget the Lotus Cortina hanging in there too. The Mini driver was far more aggressive than the Cortina driver. Great video.

I found myself rooting for the little red fellow. That driver was working his back side off 👍 Salute to him for giving that mustang driver a very stressful day😂🍺

HP to weight, and balls out driving, takes the day! I will always love an 8.2" Windsor Ford!

Several years ago, I attended some races at Virginia International Raceway with camera in hand. I got a great picture of a Mini going around a left-hand turn and its left rear wheel was completely off the ground. I also saw a guy barrel-roll a Shelby Mustang.

I grew up on SCCA racing at PBIR now Moroso watching these exact battles. I still have pictures of Paul Newman racing there. Santa

For those who say that the problem with those cars are the parts, there's a bunch of parts still being made for them as they're one of the most loved and "still on the road" classic cars. New bodies for the first-generation Mustang are still being made.

Holy crap that mini is insane

I'm surprised that lotus Cortina didn't make a better showing of itself. Great video, thanks for posting it.

Nice video! The whole time I was rooting for the Lotus Cortina because I had one for 3 years back in the late 70s. The Mini had to be tuned to the hilt to keep up like that.

Tfe Mini is like an angry David to the Goliath .. will not give up. I have owned both. Minis in the UK will always love them. And two Mustangs in Canada. The North American working man's sports car

Dude driving the mini is BAAAD AAASSS!