When we think of Mini Coopers, we think of a cute little car meant for zipping around town and fitting into tight parking spaces. It can wrongfully be looked upon as the pocket-sized car that is driven mostly by female drivers and is usually found in crowds at the mall parking. These are fun cars that can be honed into serious performers.

With a solid aftermerket, Coopers can not only contend on the street but on the track as well. In Europe the Mini Cooper is an iconic car and brand due to its racing heritage earned in the world of rally in the 1960s. Mini Coopers have been used for numerous types of racing events such as the Mini Challenge and numerous rally series. The car seen here in this video is probably the most exciting Mini Cooper you will ever see. In fact it’s so exciting that a new category was created in the Mini Challenge series for this specific format, called Gen 3.

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The standard Mini is transformed into a full fledged touring car, just on a Mini scale. A production Mini Cooper S powerplant is taken from a 1.6 liters of displacement to 2.0 liters, hence the newly-created category in the series, Gen 3. Some of this Mini’s modifications include a full roll cage, other driver safety apparatus, and a custom Quaife sequential gearbox bolted to the engine to handle the increased power output and the abuse aggressive shifting in the heat of battle on the track.

The exterior was also given a makeover, consisting of a more aggressive front air dam, a wing, and a rear diffuser that keeps the car planted at speed. Along with all those modifications, the suspension and brake systems have been raised to racing levels of performance and durability. The Mini is built in-house by Total Track and can be bought as a full race car for roughly $45,000. The Gen 3 recently became a Watch the video and listen to the Mini’s revised soundtrack as it flies around the race park.