The Mini was conceived by Alec Issigonis to be the ultimate city car, small in proportions but featuring a groundbreaking platform that made it surprisingly spacious on the inside. It sold in over five million copies and is considered one of the most influential designs ever. So good was BMC's biggest hit that it even made waves in the racing world, both on the rally stages and on the circuits of the world. It is, then, not that surprising that a latter-day Mini with enough mods is capable of putting 500 horsepower to the ground.

This monster Mini's got supercar credentials

Gildred Racing is a California-based tuning and restoration company that deals in reviving and restoring old Minis. And by reviving we mean making them quite staggering indeed in terms of both the quality of the build and the performance that these pocket rockets can produce. Gildred Racing can build you all sorts of modernized (resto-modded, if you will) Minis including a Wagon, a Truck, a Woody, as well as three versions based on the typical two-door body style.

However, under its skin, there are tons of upgrades including a modern drivetrain, A/C inside (where you also get leather-wrapped bucket seats, a touchscreen display in the middle of the dash, milled knobs, and a sporty steering wheel), and a choice of three engines including the 200 horsepower B18C Civic Type R engine.

Beyond the Classic there's the Sport and the Type S, the meanest and grittiest Mini that Gildred Racing can cook in its ovens. As you'd expect, Matt Farrah of TheSmokingTire took a Type S out for a spin and suffice to say that the warning on Gildred Racing's website, that the Type is is 'recommended for advanced drivers only', should be taken seriously.

Why? Well, let's talk numbers for a second here. The original Cooper S from the early '60s (named 'Cooper' because John Cooper of Cooper Cars fame fiddled with it to make it go in a proper way) was powered by a sub-1.1-liter engine, namely the BMC A-Series four-pot that developed 70 horsepower and 62 pound-feet of torque, all sent to the front axle via a four-speed gearbox. The car weighed little over 1,400 pounds and, while the speedometer on later models went all the way to 120 mph, it would never go beyond 90 mph and a run from naught to 60 mph took over 13 seconds.

So, now that we've loaded your head with all of that, here's what Gildred Racing's Type S brings to the table: for starters, the engine is no longer in front of the cabin but behind the seats.

With a wheelbase the length of your forearm, the Type S likes to move around a bit when you lift off the throttle, as Matt Farrah is quick to notice but the brakes are huge (for a car this small) so you'll be stopping in no time.

The gearbox is a close-ratio six-speed manual with an exposed linkage for a bit of that Pagani glitz and there's a limited-slip diff in the back there too where all the power's being dispatched. Equipped with sticky Toyo R888s, the car reaches 140 mph in a quarter-mile run. If that's not impressive then get this: the power-to-weight ratio of this Mini not only matches that of a Veyron, it soundly beats it at 551 horsepower-per-ton compared to 523 horsepower-per-ton for the Veyron. The Chiron, for reference, boasts a power-to-weight ratio of 552 horsepower-per-ton...

As you'd expect, something like this is expensive and when we say expensive we mean really expensive when you consider that a 2020 Cooper S is under $31,000 before options. But it's also not expensive at all if you take into account the multi-million-dollar price tag of a Chiron or a Veyron. And the Type S will be rarer than both of those cars because Tyler Gildred, the founder of Gildred Racing, will only build ten of these.

That's 23 fewer copies than Ferrari made of the 250 GTO. So, here's what you'll have to pay for a Type S specced just like the one Matt Farrah drove: $150,000. There you go, now start thinking about which organ you don't particularly like or need because we're sure you'll love this!

FAQ

Q: Does the Fiat 500 X Get Good Fuel Economy?

The Fiat 500X is rated at 24 mpg in the city, 30 mpg on the highway, and s6 mpg combined. Those figures put it pretty close to fairly similar models like the Ford Fiesta Hatch at 25 in the city, 32 on the highway, and 28 combined, while cars like the Mini Cooper, which is probably one of the strongest competitors, pulls in much better figures at 28 mpg in the city, 36 mpg on the highway, and 31 mpg combined.

Q: How Much Can the Fiat 500X Tow?

Despite being classified as a subcompact crossover, a segment that usually offers some kind of towing capacity, the Fiat 500X isn’t capable of towing in the United States. In other markets, it can pull up to 1,000 pounds when properly equipped, but if you’re U.S. based and do some light towing, you will need to consider something other than the 500X.

Q: Is the Fiat 500X Fast?

The Fiat 500X can run to 60 mph in 8.3 seconds and tops out at 120 mph. You should keep in mind that the Fiat 500X isn't designed to be a performance vehicle and is more about family drives and cruising, so you shouldn't expect to get anywhere too fast anyway. For the sake of comparison, the Mini Cooper S can make it to 60 mph in 7.3 seconds and tops out at 149 mph while the Ford Fiesta ST hatchback can make the 60-mph sprint in 6.9 seconds on the way to a top speed of 144 mph.

Q: How Spacious is the Fiat 500X?

As a subcompact crossover, the Fiat 500X does offer decent room for its size and can fit four adults comfortably as long as the rear passengers don’t traverse beyond six-foot in height or are of the larger variety. The downside here is that models like the Ford Fiesta ST actually offers more room in most areas with the exception of front and rear shoulder room and hip room and rear headroom. To see how it compares to the Mini Cooper and Fiesta ST hatch in detail, check out the table and charts below.

Q: How Much Cargo Can the Fiat 500X Carry?

Cargo room is the area where the Fiat 500X does the opposite of excel with a minimum rating of 14.1 cubic-feet or 39.8 cubic-feet with the rear seats laid down. Its minimum rating does beat out the Mini cooper by one cubic-foot, but it falls 0.9-cubic feet short when the Coopers rear seats are laid down. The Fiesta ST hatchback beats it hands down with 23.8 cubic-feet in normal configuration or 44.8 cubic-feet with the rear seats laid down.