For Sale:  2005 MINI Cooper S, 6spd Transmission w/ LSD. 
Price:  $9000 or trades considered.
Mileage: 96,2xx
Location:  Upstate NY, 12180.
Contact:  Kuzmak1982@gmail.com


Well, automotive A.D.D. has struck again, as it tends to do every two years or so, and I think it’s finally time to move on from the MINI.  This car has been nothing less than a pleasure to own, and pound-for-pound has brought me more smiles than any other vehicle I’ve owned (FC3S, WRX, MS3, various SR20DET Nissans).  Ever since their release in the US, I’ve always been intrigued by the R53 MINI Cooper S;  a tiny, almost toy-like car, it promised to be not only hugely fun to drive, but is unexpectedly practical as well.  With the rear seats folded down, I can carry two snowboards and two huge bags of gear, or a full-size road bike with the front wheel detached.  Equipped with snow tires, even in it's lowered form I had no problem getting to and from the Ski Resorts in the middle of a snowstorm.

As you may or may not know, this particular generation of the MINI Cooper S came equipped with a factory forged, 8.3:1 CR, 1.6L Supercharged engine (Eaton M45 blower), Getrag 6-speed manual transmission, and stiff sport-tuned suspension.  A zillion other options were available upon order, and I’ll highlight those below.  Additionally, the 2005 & 2006 models came with many improvements that previous years lack, for example: a 7hp bump, Teflon coated supercharger rotors, shorter gear ratios, improved interior build quality, improved power steering pump reliability, revised coolant tank and more.


Ownership History:

I am technically the 3rd owner of this car.  The gentleman I purchased the car from only owned it for about 8 months, seldom drove it, and finally sold it due to getting a company car.  Worth mentioning, this particular owner was/is the Product Manager for Porsche’s Sports Car Division (Tim Cupp).  He’s a true enthusiast and knew how to drive and care for this car.  Before Tim, the original owner was a Doctor from New Jersey.  Like Tim, this man was a Porsche enthusiast, 911 owner, and spared no expense when owning and caring for this car.  I’ve followed suit, and continued meticulous maintenance and record keeping during my ownership. 


Maintenance:

I have literally every single receipt for maintenance or modifications done to this car from 2005 through last month, filed away in chronological order.  The folder is easily an inch thick...  As an enthusiast, I can’t stress enough the importance and benefit of having this information available.  You will never need to guess what work this car has received; it’s all there for your immediate reference.  If you have a specific question about maintenance history, feel free to ask.  I don’t think I even need to say it but, this car has always received full synthetic oil in the correct weight and changed every 3500 miles or so (Castrol 5w-40 Euro and Mobil 0w-40 Euro).  Upon every other oil change, I also changed the spark plugs with NGK “copper” plugs, one step colder than stock.  I also swapped the stock gear oil for Redline MTL 70w-90 at ~80,000 miles.


Factory Options:

-Chili Red body, w/ white roof and mirror caps.
-No sunroof model! (saves ~50lbs, eliminates leaks, and increases chassis rigidity).
-Factory LSD option (rare & often overlooked).
-Winter Package (heated front seats, washer jets, mirrors, and headlight washers).
-Gray and black cloth seats (no sliding around while cornering, or sticky summer-butt).
-Xenon HID headlights.
-Harmon Kardon stereo, w/ Aux jack.


Modifications:

Engine
-Helix 15% supercharger reduction pulley (~15psi).
-Custom one-off Carbon Fiber Air Box, w/ K&N cone filter.
-Stainless steel Tri-Y header, catless (no CEL w/ adjustable Vibrant O2 spacer).
-MagnaFlow Stainless Cat-Back System (2.5” piping, dual muffler).
-Valeo single mass flywheel conversion (saves weight, more reliable, and far more cost effective to replace.
-NGK V-Power “Copper” plugs, one step colder (BKR7E, gapped at 0.030”)
-Autometer ProLite Vacuum/Boost gauge.


Suspension / Handling
-Bilstein PSS9 Coilover suspension.  *Installed 4/2015*
-Hotchkis adjustable front camber plates.  *New spherical bearings 4/2015*
-M7 strut tower brace w/ tower reinforcement plates (prevents strut tower “mushrooming”).
-RDR 3-way adjustable rear anti-sway bar.
-BBS RG-R forged wheels in gunmetal (17x7, et +40).  16lbs each.  *Refinished and powder coated "Porsche Silver" 4/2015*
-Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport tires (less than 5k miles old).
-PowerStop drilled & slotted rotors, front and rear.
-Akebono ceramic brake pads, front and rear.


Visual
-Aero upper grill.                                                                                                                                                                                                     
-PlastiDipped Lower Grill.
-GoMINIGo Front License Plate Holder
-Cravenspeed Gauge pod.


These tasteful modifications combined with the inherent playful nature of this car has made it truly entertaining to drive.  Overall, there is about $8,000 in quality modifications done to this car.  For those interested in the numbers game, the car should have ~225 horsepower at the crank, and weigh in at ~2500lbs.  That’s a power-to-weight ratio that’s nothing to sneer at.  You could easily increase power by adding an even smaller pulley, injectors, camshaft and/or an ECU tune. 


Full Disclosure: 

This car is loud at WOT, as one would expect from a catless supercharged car.  This car is also set-up to be very rigid (though damping is 10-way adjustable).  This car is not perfect; it has small front-end stone chips from the highway, and a few fine scratches in places.  Having said that, there are no dings / dents on the car whatsoever, and zero rust.  Overall, it's a clean, well-cared for, well-documented, hugely fun and reliable car. 


If you have any questions or would like to view the car, feel free to contact me via Email.  I will not respond to lowball offers, or offers without seeing the car beforehand.  Oh, and if the sale price is right, I'll include the stock 16” alloy wheels, w/ one season old Dunlop Graspic DS3 snow tires mounted on them.  Thanks for looking, folks.

Exterior Photos:


























Interior photos (I apologize for the quality):

Last edited by TheBigChill (2015-05-17 11:37:29)