A matchup between a Ford Mustang GT and a Mini might seem like a done deal before the race even commences – but the Hayabusa-powered Mini in the hands of Carwow Drags gave the pony car more of a run for its money than anyone expected.
The mini packs a 1,300 cc motor. It’s small, it’s light at just , and it’s nimble. The Ford Mustang, meanwhile, packs 490 horsepower, but it also weighs 1,730 kg (roughly 3,813 pounds). That means it might be a fairly even fight on the quarter-mile from a standing start. The Mustang doesn’t get off the line nearly as quick as the Mini, but once the pony car builds some momentum, there’s no stopping it. The Mustang GT flashes across the line first, although the Mini kept up.
A second race sees the Mini again getting a better launch than the Ford Mustang. The Mustang has to really put the hammer down to catch its tiny rival, and only pulls ahead at the line. It’s a win for the muscle car, but it wasn’t an easy one by any means.
Now, it’s time for some rolling races from 30 mph. The Mini has a surprising amount of get-up-and-go and pulls ahead of the Mustang at first, but again, the Mustang manages to dig in and gallop past it right before the line. A second roll race produces almost identical results. The Mini gets up to speed much faster, but the Mustang has the juice to even the score in the last few feet of the race, although it was too little too late – the Mini wins this one.
Finally, as is customary on Carwow Drags, the drivers test their vehicle’s “whoa” after testing their “go.” Standing on the brake, the Mustang nose-dives and scrubs off speed a lot faster than the Mini can slow up. But in short, the racing was quite a bit closer than one might expect from a literal muscle car against something packing a Hayabusa engine.
A few years ago, the same crew tested a Ford Mustang GT on the drag strip against a Bowler Bulldog. They must really like to put the Mustang GT on track against rather strange vehicles.
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