Drag racing two very different vehicles usually result in a thrilling outcome. CarWow’s latest drag battle features an almost stock, Ford Mustang GT, and a classic Mini Cooper that has been heavily modified. At first glance, it hardly sounds like a fair race, but the Mini has dropped the standard blender in favor of a Hayabusa motorcycle engine. It seems like a classic race between horsepower and lightweight, in which the Mustang has a lot more engine displacement and horsepower while the Mini relies on lightness and high revs.

[More importantly, it has been tuned by Clive Sutton so it now packs 490 horsepower (360.4 kilowatts) Sadly, this is a downgrade from the 2021 model year, which packed 460 horsepower (338.3 kilowatts) and 420 pound-feet (569 Nm), due to stricter emissions regulations. Regardless, this particular Mustang GT packs a 10-speed automatic.

The most powerful among them – the Mini S had a 1.3-liter engine with 76 horsepower (57 kilowatts) and 80 pound-feet (108 Nm). Peak torque remains the same as stock. As equipped, the American pony car tips the scales at 3,814 pounds (1,730 kg). The new power output should allow the American pony car to sprint from 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) in around 3.8 seconds.

Meanwhile, the classic Mini is anything but stock. From the factory, these came up with a variety of small inline-four units, ranging from 0.85 to 1.3 liters of displacement. However, it has a redline of 10,000 to 11,500 RPM, depending on the generation, which allowed for a 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 9.8 seconds.

By pure coincidence, the new engine, which comes from a Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle, is also a 1.3-liter. However, it has a redline of 10,000 to 11,500 RPM, depending on the generation. In this case, the motorcycle unit develops 180 horsepower (132.4 kilowatts) and 110.6 pound-feet (150 Nm). The new powertrain is also mounted in the middle, behind the driver, instead of at the front. The transmission is a six-speed sequential.

The classic Mini was never a heavy car, but this one takes things further through the use of lightweight materials, including new body panels, lightweight windows, and a stripped interior. The resulting figure is 1,102 pounds (500 kg), which is over 250 pounds (113 kg) lighter than a stock, Mini S. How this translates on the dragstrip, you can see in the video below. As a small spoiler, we will say that the battle was much closer than we had anticipated, and in most cases, the winner did not win by a huge margin.