MINI news vol. 2 AWD!!!!!

[JonnyChimpO]

From the Telegraph.co.uk:

It was the sort of bend that front-wheel-drive cars like the 167bhp Mini Cooper S really hate: a tightening downhill left-hander. To make matters worse, the road was streaming wet after a recent cloudburst and rivulets dribbled across the gleaming tarmac.

It’s such situations that get modern traction and stability control systems working overtime as they try to curb wheelspin and maintain grip. Dashboard warning lights flash in front of you like demented Christmas decorations.

But not in this Cooper, as the electronic stability program (ESP) has been deliberately deactivated. So, heel-and-toe down into second, turn the car into the bend and bury the throttle.

Instead of understeering off into the Armco, or suddenly slowing as the engine revs are cut by electronic guardian angels, the car’s line tightens, the revs rise and we shoot through the corner like a ball on a roulette wheel.

You can read the entire article below:

[ Look out Ken, here comes the MINI 4×4 ] Telegraph.co.uk

Since we know the fine folks at MINI read MotoringFile, I’m going to throw out a question to our readers. Show of hands, who would buy an all wheel drive MINI as described above? How much weight added is tolerable? How price added is tolerable?
http://motoringfile.com/pictures/4x4_mini.jpg

[JCapelo]

****ing awsome.....

how about rwd now??

[kelso]

id take one. id say a few hundred pounds and maybe a grand or so is good....maybe 2 grand even.... an awd one just seems so right. rwd, i dunno...

[LDadrenaline]

Yayawdftw!!!

[SlickShift]

AWD Mini...that's pretty sweet!

[JonnyChimpO]

there are more articles about it. I have one with the pics of the car and everything. I guess that will be tomorrow. vol. 2.1

[///Mental]

I would get the awd mini. but the hp also has to be added, it cant have just 160... thats gehy. if it had like oh say....240 :) id rock it.

[TheDarkSide]

:yum:

[LDadrenaline]

:yum:

wow good thing that wasn't TOTAL post whoring.... :rofl:

[JonnyChimpO]

more awd mini
Last year Getrag showed off it’s all-wheel drive MINI prototype at several industry only events throughout the world. There they not only demonstrated the car first hand, but delivered test data that demonstrated the benefits of the Getrag AWD system known as Twinster. The system has been designed for use on a number of different platforms and theoretically for a number of different automotive manufacturers. These presentations were mainly meant to sell the system to OEM manufacturers. However what makes this so fascinating for MINI owners is the fact that Getrag exclusively used a MINI Cooper S for all of their drivetrain testing.

MotoringFile has recently obtained this test data (in the form of a PDF presentation) that was passed out at one of these events. While the presentation uses industry jargon that may be a bit over the head of some of our readers, it does give us an overall impression of the performance that the AWD Twinster MINI is capable of. Interestingly they not only compare the Twinster to the normal front wheel drive MINI but to several other AWD configurations as well. There’s even a rear wheel drive version that is referenced!
The presentation starts out with a simple question. Why a MINI for demonstration purposes. Here’s Getrags answer:

* FWD with East-West Engine
* Cooper S stands for Freudeam Fahren (Fun to drive)
* More power than suitable for FWD ( >160 HP )
* No AWD available
* Package VERY tight = 4WD Version is challenging
* Benchmark for Vehicle Dynamics
* Objective comparison of different driveline configurations in one vehicle

* Influence on traction
* Influence on vehicle dynamics
* How much improvement does each system deliver?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the winner was the Twinster AWD setup. Here’s their conclusion:

The TWINSTER showed the best performance of all tested systems:

* Best cornering performance by Active Yaw function

* when cornering

* lowest steering angle
* highest Lateral Acceleration

# best handling performance
# noticeable reduction of steer in understeering under acceleration while cornering
# Best Traction performance by:

* using dynamical weight increase on the primarily driven axle during acceleration
* on split-µ the system acts like a combination of axle locking differential and hang on coupling

So for those that have been wanting to know the ins and outs of the Getrag AWD system, here’s your chance. You can download the entire presentation in PDF format below:

[ Getrag AWD Study ] .8 MB

Of course none of this officially means that (A) we will eventually see an AWD MINI or (B) this will be the system that is used. But all that said, BMW has partnered with Getrag for years when it comes to the drivetrain area of it’s cars. Further, this system is well engineered and very much performance oriented, both prerequisites for BMW and MINI.

[JonnyChimpO]

http://motoringfile.com/pictures/awd_MINI.jpg

[ Getrag AWD Study ] .8 MB
http://www.motoringfile.com/files/getrag_awd.pdf