World’s First Race-Prepped Mini Cooper SE Receives Evo Upgrades

This one of a kind hillclimb special from Romania is getting the Evo treatment.

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Andrei Nedelea

By: Andrei Nedelea

Mar 28, 2022 at 9:13am ET

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Racing Mimi is what its creators call this special, one-of-a-kind electric Mini hillclimb car. Created in 2020 in Romania under BMW’s tutelage, this special project car has been incrementally improved over the years, but now they plan to turn it into Racing Mimi Evo through a series of key upgrades and improvements that will, of course, allow it to be even quicker around a twisty mountain road.

The initial list of modifications made to the vehicle through 2020 included stripping out most of the interior, fitting it with a racing-homologated roll cage, as well as Sparco racing seats with six-point harnesses, as well as a mandatory FIA-approved automatic fire suppression system inside. They also changed the standard suspension for a KW V3 kit, the standard wheels were ditched in favor of a lightweight set borrowed from the Mini Challenge car and the tires are racing slicks.

Gallery: Racing Mimi EVO

Power stayed the same, 184 horsepower and 270 Nm (199 pound-feet), but with the reduced weight, lower suspension and improved traction, Racing Mimi is not only quicker in a straight line, but it considerably builds on the original’s impeccable handling through the corners. Now, though, they want to make it even better, in order to help it be even more competitive in this year’s edition of the national hillclimb championship (Campionatul Naţional de Viteză în Coastă).

The big upgrade that Mimi was given to make it ready for 2022 is an uprated braking system borrowed, the John Cooper Works Brembo setup, as well as a hydraulic handbrake. They also added bracing to the car’s shell to improve its torsional rigidity and completely removed the electronic driving aids (anti-lock braking and stability control) and they gave it a custom battery and motor monitoring system.

Racing Mimi Evo will debut during next weekend’s Romanian hillclimb stage, Trofeul Râşnov, where it will show how big a difference the aforementioned upgrades have made.