Adjustable Nitron suspension, a Quaife sequential gearbox and 265bhp sounds like the perfect fast road MINI. Except the latest JCW CHALLENGE car isn’t road legal – but that hasn’t stopped Ryan Dignan.
Hands up how many of you have drooled over the latest F56 JCW CHALLENGE race car and thought how cool it would be to build something similar for the road? Okay, so I haven’t forgotten about the hardcore JCW CHALLENGE, but those special 50 are converted road cars, rather than proper race cars. Ryan’s car doesn’t even have headlights as standard equipment and costs almost £42,000 when new!
Well, with the 2017 MINI JCW CHALLENGE over by the end of September, and Brett Smith crowned as champion, it was time for the drivers to have a well-earned rest and the teams running them to refresh and rebuild these mini touring cars. All ready for the start of the next season, which should be in April.
Not in Ryan Dignan’s case. After a successful first season, and the buzz of finishing 16th out of 32 entries, he wanted more. Instead of resting his modern MINI racer, he wanted to do the unthinkable and get this 2014 JCW CHALLENGE MINI on the road! “When the season finished towards the end of September, I knew it was something I wanted to sort before the winter months properly set in,” explains Ryan.
Seemingly impossible, but believe it or not, MINI CHALLENGE bodyshells come off the same Plant Oxford production line as any other F56 hatch. Then, they are sent straight to MINI Challenge HQ at ExcelR8 Motorsport in Norfolk to be converted into JCW Championship cars. “Getting the MINI CHALLENGE car road registered was something I had been looking at doing for a while, but race commitments and work left me with little time to get it sorted,” he adds.
Denne historien er fra January - February 2018-utgaven av Modern MINI.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Denne historien er fra January - February 2018-utgaven av Modern MINI.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
What Goes Round Comes Round
Thought lambo doors have had their day? Wrong – vince wong’s highly detailed build is here to show that eyecatching mods are timeless. And this build’s about far more than a set of fancy doors…
The Full Works
After cutting his teeth on a Mini Roadster, morgan gray managed to get his dream car – a fully loaded, Jen 3 John Cooper works, and he uses it properly, too…
How To…De-Chrome A Mini
De-chroming is a quick, easy, and very effective way to improve a modern mini’s looks and appearance. Here’s what’s involved…
Purple Haze
THE SPIRIT OF THE SIXTIES IS STRONG IN THIS BLACK EYE PURPLE R53 – AND YET AT THE SAME TIME, IT’S A THOROUGHLY MODERN BUILD, HIDING HILARIOUS PERFORMANCE BENEATH ITS SPANGLY DISCO PAINTWORK…
Driven: Mini Cooper S 60 Years Edition
MINI HAS A REPUTATION FOR MAKING SPECIAL BIRTHDAY EDITIONS, SO MARTYN HAS BEEN DRIVING THE LATEST TO FIND OUT IF THE COOPER S 60 YEARS EDITION IS A WORTHY CONTENDER…
Cruel Sport
UNFORTUNATE MISTAKES HAVE SHOWN ALEX JUST HOW FINE THE MARGINS ARE IN THE PRO CLASS, AND JUST HOW CRUEL MOTORSPORT CAN BE AT TIMES…
Purple Passion
Steve Davidson dreamed of owning a Cooper S since school and we reckon his BMW-wheeled R53 has been worth the wait.
Family Business
MINIs have been a part of Antonio Sapata’s whole life, leading him to build this R53 with unique custom touches as a tribute to his uncle.
Mini Variant Buyers Guide
The boom in second generation MINIs gave clues as to how BMW planned to develop the brand; here’s more about these MINI variants and why they’re still worth a look
Mini One D ClubMan
First came the Cooper, Cooper D, Cooper S and Cooper SD and ALL4 Clubmans. But we’ve just spent some time with the one that MINI told us wouldn’t be built – the entry-level One D.
