Nothing is as it seems at Gatebil. One thing you can be certain of however is that pretty much every car there might as well deserve its very own feature. I have never come across an event quite like it and I felt like a child in a candy store when it came to picking what cars to concentrate on. But one that was high on my list of priorities even before getting to Rudskogen was the Mini Quattro. It wasn’t until I checked the car over in the paddock and talked to its creator that I realized this was even less of a Mini that the name actually suggested, yet even more of an extreme car that I initially imagined.
You see, under the Mini-like cladding, is a completely bespoke spaceframe chassis that was built around the adapted AWD driveline from an Audi A3. Is this beginning to sound crazy enough? Not at all, it’s just your typical Gatebil find of course!
But before we get to the oily bits lets concentrate on the exterior, pretty much the only aspect of the build that bares any resemblance to the Mini it’s named after. Utilizing a fiberglass Monte Carlo wide body from UK Mini specialist Z-Cars, the Mini Quattro boasts massively flared arches, lightweight doors, easy to remove front and rear sections and lexan glass all round.
Due to some unexpected misfiring issues throughout the weekend the Mini Quattro was unable to spend much time on track but when it did it certainly looked like no other Mini I, or most people at the event had ever seen. To see a little car like this shoot out of corners with such fierce acceleration looked almost unnatural, sort of like seeing a remote control car defy physics!
While traction is phenomenal with all four wheels putting power down, you can never have too much stability and downforce at speed, which is where the large rear adjustable spoiler…
…and diffuser come in.
The stubby front end may not be the most adapt shape for penetrating through the air efficiently, but when you have raw power, who cares about aerodynamics! To generate some front downforce, a little protruding lip was bolted in place and further secured by two DTM-style splitter holders.
This car doesn’t really try to hide the fact that it’s sporting some obvious links to Audi…
…something that became easily visible once the owner removed the tiny hood that barely fits over the motor!
Considering there is so little space within the custom tubular frame, it’s pretty incredible that everything managed to fit! The engine, along with the complete AWD driveline was lifted out of a 1999 Audi A3 1.8 Turbo, adapted and swapped over into the Mini. Needless to say a ton of work was required to make everything function properly…
…which started with a bit of tuning. The donor engine was taken apart and fitted with a billet crankshaft from a 1996 model Audi A3, deemed stronger and therefore more reliable to accept the higher boost levels the upgraded turbo would deliver. Joining it are a set of Verdi connecting rods and some custom made pistons. With the exhaust side of the engine towards the firewall, it meant there was very little space to play with when fabricating the exhaust manifold onto which both the turbocharger…
