2003 Mini Cooper Hatchback 2-door on 2040-cars

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Xcar takes the Mini Challenge, and it sounds awesome

The third-generation Mini is well and truly on sale in markets across the world. The new four-door model should be arriving soon, if it isn't already on sale in your neck of the woods, and the latest John Cooper Works model made its official debut just a few weeks ago at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show. We aren't going to be talking about any of those right now, though. That's because our chums at Xcar took it upon themselves to sample the third-generation Mini Challenge racecar, a 275-horsepower, hardcore, fully committed competition version of the otherwise adorable Mini Cooper S. At roughly 30,000 British pounds (about $45,200 at today's rates) there's a lot to like about the Challenge car. Aside from a gutted cabin and aggressive aerodynamic kit, the racer has been fitted with slick tires, a Quaife sequential gearbox, adjustable dampers, Alcon brakes and a consequently lower curb weight – under 2,600 pounds with an average-sized driver. It's fair to say the Challenge driving experience figures to be unlike your typical road-going Mini. And considering that, we think the folks that built the car, Total Track, have fulfilled their promise of delivering a "touring car experience at a fraction of the cost." Have a look at the Xcar video and let us know what you think. Be sure to crank up your speakers, because the Challenge sounds excellent.

Spectre Type 10 is a 230-hp, $180,000 mid-engined Mini restomod

Restomodded classic Minis are nothing new, right? A number of reworks swap the original 1.3-liter engine, Honda's VTEC K20 four-cylinder being such a popular replacement that Mini Mania makes a complete swap kit, but the 1.0-liter Ford EcoBoost gets love, too. Some mods replace the engine and move it behind the front seats, a popular option when using the four-cylinder from a Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle. Some restomods don't do any of that, but just overhaul everything and charge a lot for it, like the David Brown Automotive Mini Remastered that costs around $100,000. As caught by Carscoops, Spectre Vehicle Design out of Vancouver, Canada has done all of the above with its Type 10 Mini restomod, raising the bar for conversions into another dimension. There will only be ten of the Launch Edition Type 10s, and about the only original part left from an original donor hatchback will be the bodyshell. These will be sourced in the same state as the buyer's residence in order to ease the process of vehicle registration. Into that bodyshell, the small Canadian team of enthusiasts has placed a Honda K20 mill with a Haltec engine management system behind the front seats. Shifted through a six-speed gearbox, we're told VTEC kicks in with 230 horsepower at the rear wheels, shunted through a limited-slip differential. In a vehicle reported to weigh 1,700 pounds wet, we're talking serious shove. Committed to keeping the Mini's ten-inch wheels, Spectre designed a new trailing arm suspension to make the package work. Those wheels are three-piece, six-inch-wide, CNC'd aluminum units with staggered offsets and directional spokes to usher hot air away from the four-piston disc brakes.  The cabin looks like a Japanese-infused Mid-Century modern living room, given a touch of carbon fiber and Monica Bellucci. Creative Director Marco Lii patterned the seating aesthetic off a genkan, the foyer area in a Japanese home where one removes ones shoes. The genkan floor is often recessed in relation to a home's main floor, and so it is here in the Type 10. There's a tatami-like mat on the cabin floor, the two interior seats placed on a dais a level above that. The copious light wood and leather interior with chrome accents is understated and gorgeous, everything so well integrated that it takes a moment to recognize the full-cabin roll cage wrapped in stitched leather. The padded center armrest on thin chromed legs looks like a piece in a high-end furniture store.

Mini Seven Special Edition looks back to the days of Austin

Mini is back at the game of special editions with the Seven, the first of its kind for the third-generation Hardtop. Named after the original Austin Seven – one of the two original Mini models, alongside the Morris Mini Minor – the new style pack is available on both the two- and four-door and the Cooper and Cooper S models. But where past Mini special editions have been largely homogenous, the new Seven has a surprising array of options, especially as it relates to colors and upholsteries. Owners can choose from four different paint schemes – Lapisluxury Blue (shown above), Pepper White, Midnight Black, and British Racing Green. The options continue in the cabin, where owners can select the Seven-specific Diamond Malt Brown fabric/leather upholstery, or they can go with straight leather in Cross Punch Carbon Black, Lounge Satellite Grey, or MINI Yours Lounge Carbon Black. There are four dash trim options, too, with standard Piano Black, and optional Dark Cottonwood, Fibre Alloy, and Off-White. Below the trim strip, owners can have either a Malt Brown color line or Carbon Black. A set of 17-inch, two-tone alloys are standard, and regardless of which exterior paint you opt for, you're stuck with a Melting Silver roof. The decreasing-width stripes match the roof and have what Mini claims are Malt Brown rules, but we're seeing red trimmings in these photos. Heated front seats, a panoramic sunroof, Comfort Access, a Harmon/Kardon stereo, park-distance control, power-folding, auto-dimming mirrors, and a 6.5-inch Mini Connected system are all standard features as part of the Seven package, while additional options will be available, like on any other Cooper or Cooper S. Mini's press release, for example, specifically calls out the larger 8.8-inch Mini Connected XL and adaptive dampers as available options. Mini will announce prices for the Seven package nearer to its late summer on-sale date. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.