How Much Crazy Would You Like? Driving Gildred Racing's Mini Super Cooper and Super Cooper EV

Motor Trend

01-07-2025

The concept of the engine swap is nearly as old as the car itself. Big engine plus small car equals speed. Some folks, though, take the idea a lot further than others. Folks like Tyler Gildred, whose Gildred Racing Super Coopers walk a fine line between crazy fun and batshit crazy.
Gildred Racing transforms vintage Minis into high-powered Super Coopers using Ford engines or Tesla motors. These modified cars, priced at $130,000, offer exhilarating performance with a focus on handling and braking adjustments. Customization options include body styles and interior features.
This summary was generated by AI using content from this MotorTrend article Read Next What's a Super Cooper?
Just looking at one, you probably won't think an original Mini is a car you can swap a bigger engine into. The hood is smaller than the lid on the overhead luggage bin in your typical airliner. Yet engine swaps are old hat for Gildred and his team. To date, they've typically been Honda D-Series engines, but those are getting exceptionally hard to find these days, so we were treated to the next-generation Super Cooper featuring the 1.5-liter turbo inline-three out of a Ford Escape.
Don't hold its SUV roots against it, though. Ford used the same engine in a different state of tune in the European-market Fiesta ST hot hatch, and that's where Gildred pulls the six-speed manual from, along with its mechanical limited-slip differential.
Everything to do with an original Mini is small, so while 180 horsepower and 190 lb-ft of torque doesn't sound like much, keep in mind this car only weighs about 1,650 pounds—and that's with luxuries like air conditioning and power doors and windows. Believe us when we say it's plenty of power and torque.
Darting through city traffic, the engine matches the car beautifully. It feels quick and lively even in Escape tune, with strong midrange power. (The nearly 200-hp Fiesta ST tune would be even more fun if it were federalized.) Get this Super Cooper out onto a country road and drop the hammer, and it gives you a little tug of torque steer on the little wood steering wheel, which doesn't quite adjust as close to vertical as you'd like (a classic Mini characteristic). Then it takes off like a bat out of hell. In this state of tune, it begins to run out of breath just before redline, but short-shifting side-steps the issue neatly.
All the while, you get that growly, angry cat three-cylinder engine note punctuated by delightful turbo blowoff noises with every gear change. Foot to the floor, it's about as quick as you want from a car this small, light, and lacking in crash protection.
Rather than more power, what it needs is more brakes. This build omitted the performance brake option, and the buyer would be wise to reconsider. The 13-inch Gildred Racing wheels make room for larger Mini Sport brakes, and they're a must. With speed and handling like this, we cooked the smaller standard brakes after a handful of corners driving flat-out.
Mini's trademark sharp and nimble handling is enhanced. The Ford engine doesn't fit around the original rubber cone springs, so they're replaced with coil-overs up front. Rear coil-overs are optional and, based on our drive, not necessary unless you plan on tracking the car. The Yokohama A539 tires bite hard, and the car snaps into corners instantaneously, so much so you learn to make small inputs on the steering wheel. Trail brake it into a turn, and the front weight bias makes itself known, though you really have to throw it in there to break the rear loose. What About the All-Electric Super Cooper?
There's a bad tendency to associate electric powertrains with boring driving, and Gildred seems to be trying to single-handedly correct the notion. The Super Cooper EV borrows the front motor from a Tesla Model S or X, good for up to 293 hp and 244 lb-ft in this tune and backed by water-cooled batteries stashed under the trunk floor, under the rear seat, and under the hood above the motor.
If dropping that much power through the little front wheels instantaneously sounds exciting to you, you're not wrong. To keep first-time drivers like us from doing something regrettable, Gildred added a drive mode toggle that limits output to 120 hp and requires the car to be at a full stop before allowing you to switch to Sport mode and full power.
We agree with this line of thinking. Even in Normal mode, stepping on it induces massive torque steer that'll drive you right off the road if you don't correct or back out of the power immediately. Don't correct too much, though, because the super-quick steering will have you swerving off the other way, as will coming off the accelerator too quickly while applying counter steer. It's a delicate balance getting this car to accelerate hard without inducing a tank-slapper.
If you feel brave, the solution is counterintuitive. Put it in Sport mode and floor it. Overwhelming the front tires will activate the Quaife mechanical limited-slip differential and send you into a massive front-wheel-drive burnout. Sounds crazy, but this eliminates the torque steer completely and keeps the car straight. Keep your foot in it, and you'll spin the tires past 50 mph as the car time warps into the next county.
Running the stock suspension but with stiffer cones to handle the extra weight (just about 1,980 pounds, total), exiting corners fast is a white-knuckle experience. This car doesn't have an adjustable steering column, so the steering wheel is nearly horizontal, like in a bus. Applying power is a delicate dance as you manage the torque steer, either keeping the car from pushing wide or turning too tight depending on which way you turn. It's incredibly quick, but it's a lot of work managing the front end constantly. The rear, at least, is nothing to worry about as the far more neutral weight balance and Yokohama Advan HF A-800 tires grip even better back there than they do on the gas-powered car.
That's how it was for us, anyway. Apparently, a certain YouTube sensation and MotorTrend Of The Year guest judge reviewed the car just before we did and allegedly knocked the alignment out of spec. Gildred admits the car is a handful but says it shouldn't be quite as wild as what we experienced. We'll have to give it another go when everything's adjusted back to the correct tolerances.
The brakes, thankfully, are no trouble here, either. Battery regen is programmed to feel like engine braking when you let off and to ramp up when you step on the brake pedal. The additional stopping power takes a load off the mechanical brakes and keeps them from getting overworked, even when driving flat-out. The regen isn't adjustable in this car, the first of the line, but will be on future Gildred Racing builds using the latest hardware from partner Electric Classic Cars.
Gildred advertises a range of up to 150 miles, if you're driving like a sane person with a strong instinct for self-preservation. Driving like we did cut it to as little as 75 miles, but we promise they'll be the most intense 75 miles of your life. More Than Just Motor
Crazy horsepower of either flavor isn't the whole story. Gildred cars are fully stripped and restored before their heart transplants. Customers can choose from various seats, steering wheels, upholstery, and more. We particularly like the earlier dashboard in the EV, which hides a wireless phone charger in the driver's side cubby, not to mention the power windows on the Ford-powered car.
Gildred will also build whatever Cooper body style you prefer. Coupes are common, but panel vans and trucks are also on the menu. You can bring your own Cooper of any vintage, though Gildred prefers to source donor cars in the best condition if you haven't already bought one. If you really feel like living dangerously, there's also the Type S, which drops both the original drivetrain and the rear seats, making way for a 500-hp mid-mounted supercharged Acura V-6.
Fully restoring and engine-swapping vintage cars doesn't come cheap, of course. Both the Super Coopers we drove ring in at $130,000, and more customized builds go up in price from there.