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Electric Mini tows a Boeing 777 airplane, because why not?

Car manufacturers seem to love hitching up to massive planes. Even Mini is getting onboard with the trend, and it's using a camouflaged version of the electric Mini on its way. Now, we saw the Mini Cooper S E completely uncovered a few days ago in spy photos, so make sure to check those out to see what the car will really look like. If it's the plane pulling you're after, watch the video above. Mini collaborated with Lufthansa on this one. The airliner provided a Boeing 777F freight aircraft for the stunt. That airplane has an unladen weight of approximately 150 tons, or just about 300,000 pounds. Needless to say, it's safely over whatever towing rating Mini is going to give its electric car. This Mini doesn't pull the airplane far, but it's enough to prove the brand's point: Electric equals lots of torque. Like we mentioned before, others have pulled off a similar stunt. A few notable examples include the Toyota Tundra towing the space shuttle for 12 miles, Porsche hauling an Airbus 380 with various Cayennes and then a Tesla Model X pulling a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The Model X is most like Mini's stunt, since it's also an electric vehicle. We'll note that the airplane towed by the Mini is also far lighter than that towed by the Tesla. Still, to have enough torque and traction to move a 300,000-pound airplane is impressive, and if nothing else, it's entertaining to watch. Reports have indicated that the new electric Mini will share the BMW i3's powertrain and battery pack, so that means it may have required only 168 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque to pull this off.

Road & Track names its 2013 Performance Car of the Year

Road & Track recently staged its first annual Performance Car of the Year test, pitting 13 new and updated performance cars against each other on track, then graduating the top six to a road test before picking a winner. Additionally, the magazine staff picked the best automobiles of the year in eight categories.
But first, let's cover the PCotY segment. Here's the list of cars brought to the comparison test: Audi R8 V10 Plus; BMW 435i; BMW M6 Competition Package; Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Z51; Ferrari F12 Berlinetta; Ford Fiesta ST; Jaguar F-Type V8 S; Jaguar XFR-S; Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG S-Model Wagon; Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series; Mini John Cooper Works GP; Nissan GT-R Track Edition; and Porsche Cayman S.
To find out the results of the comparison, head over to Road & Track's website or check the press release below, where you'll also find the magazine's top-rated vehicles in eight categories. Want more? Head over to the 2013 PCotY hub. But before you do that, take a stab at guessing the winner of PCotY (we'll give you one hint: it isn't a Porsche).

Mini wins Dakar Rally for fourth year in a row

Motorsport in its various forms tends to be characterized by eras of domination: Red Bull in F1, Audi at Le Mans, Citroen and now Volkswagen in the WRC. That's certainly the case with the Dakar Rally. After years of domination at the hands of the Mitsubishi Pajero, the Volkswagen Touareg won the famous rally raid three years running. But these days, it's all about Mini. The Anglo-Saxon team won the Dakar three years running, locking out the podium last year in positively dominant style. And now it's won again. After some 5,600 miles spanning three countries across South America, the Mini All4 Racing machine piloted by Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar, with France's Mathieu Baumel as co-pilot, has taken the top step on the podium in Buenos Aires. The duo won five out of 13 legs to claim the race, marking the first win for Baumel and the second for Al-Attiyah, who won with VW in 2011. It would have been a podium lockout again for Mini had it not been for Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz, who placed their Toyota Hilux in second, with additional Minis finishing in third, fourth and fifth. The troubled Peugeot 2008 DKR driven by Stephane Peterhansel ultimately finished in 11th place. American driver Robby Gordon finished first in his class, but 19th overall. Things were even more predictable in the other categories. The Kamaz team from Russia won the Truck category for the third consecutive year (and the twelfth since 2000). Spanish rider Marco Coma won the Motorcycle category on his KTM 450 Rally – his second consecutive win and fifth win overall. And Poland's Rafal Sonik won in the Quad class, which has been taken on a Yamaha ATV every year since the rally moved to South America and the category was instituted.