It takes a strong, turbocharged punch to make it to the 14,114′ summit of Colorado’s Pike’s Peak. While some might think a massaged version of the Mini’s turbocharged four might do the trick, there’s probably more potential in one of Nissan’s VR38DETT motors prepared by Sodemo. That’s the R35 GT-R motor for those who don’t know, and a WRC-spec gearbox from Sadev transfers some 900 horsepower to all four tires. With carbon bits to trim what little fat there was around the Mini’s midsection, there’s no way you couldn’t smile when imagining the power-to-weight ratio here—it only weighs 2,100 pounds!

However, the car seen here is only as Mini Cooper as a NASCAR is a Camry. With a custom spaceframe draped in Mini Cooper’s clothing, the petite Mini is as serious as they get, and the comprehensive aero kit only rams this idea home.

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It helps that Jean-Phillipe Dayraut is the one piloting this mad, little creation. A three-time winner of the highly-esteemed Andros Trophy, Dayraut’s success on ice in modified hot hatches served him well when he took this machine to the “Race to the Clouds” back in 2013. However, this car was covered in the facade of a Dacia Duster when he first attacked the mountain outside of Colorado Spring, Colorado.

Of course, 2013 was better known for another Frenchman hustling another V6-powered car up the mountain. While Sebastien Loeb may have stolen the spotlight, Dayraut and his outfit, which looked absolutely shoestring next to Loeb and Peugeot, managed an impressive third behind them. Considering they were using off-the-shelf Yokohamas, as opposed to the special Michelins the Peugeot was shod in, that’s pretty impressive.

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Being a sensible man, Dayraut sold the car after a few attempts and moved on with racing in a less dangerous category. For anyone willing to cough up a quarter-million, there’s a car which can out-accelerate an F1 car and do it at near-stratospheric heights. Seems like a reasonable price then.