Here is the copy of the PM I sent Remi, if anyone else is interested. My philosophy is that it is more fun to drive a slow car fast, than drive a fast car slow (and a lot cheaper too)
We race two Cooper S. the 2003 is setup to run in track and road racing, and the 2005 is strictly for ProSolo and autocross. I also drive a 2006 Cooper S with the JCW kit (not JC Whitney, John Cooper Works) that is owned by my codriver.
The Mini is a very fun car to drive. My 2003 has 10K miles on it, and it saw a fair amount of use as a daily driver when I first owned it. The Mini is like a go-kart for the street. It handles very well.
I was surprised at the room inside, I am 6'2" and I can fit in the car and still clear my helmet. Of course there is not much room in the rear seats when the fronts are back. But you could fit 4 adults into the car for short jouneys no problem.
MPG - the car easily gets in the mid 20's even driven fairly aggressively. I have seen 40mpg on a 250 mile roadtrip to Nebraska at 75mph. Driven hard you still get around low 20's. On track we see low teens. by comparison the WRX STi gets 5mpg at the track.
I would avoid Brecht Mini in Escondido - we had terrible service there in March when we needed help while on a racing trip to Fontana. Shop around the country for a Mini - don't rely on your local dealer only. I bought my first one here in Denver after being on the waiting list 18months. When we wanted the 2005 they told me it would take 6 months. The dealer in St Louis (talk to Kyle Petty there - tell him I sent you) had one to me 3 months later. It was one of the very first models with a LSD. We had the car exactly ten days before we headed to CA to go racing. It won it's first 3 national events.
You can go online to MiniUSA.com and spec the Mini any way you choose. The website rocks and is a great way to decide which options work best for you (or which ones you can afford) It is also really neat that once you have a production number for your car you can follow it being built in the factory and track it being deliverd to the USA.
Although the basic Cooper S starts at about $21K I see Mini's at the local dealer in Denver marked over $40K
If you intend competing in autocross with your Mini I advise you to attend a few local events first and talk to the Mini owners there. If you intend being competitive, you need to order the Mini with certain options.
Our 2005 has the LSD and zero other options. Keep it light by avoiding the auto climate control, no sunroof, no premium wheels, no leather - but talk to some of your local Mini owners. One of popular mods is to change the supercharger pulley. If you intend competing with your Mini avoid doing this. It bumps you from a competitive class to Street Modified which is the domain of $100 000 BMW's.
Good resources include - MINIUSA.com, NAM (northamericanmotoring.com), SCCA.com (find the link to your local region). Not sure if you are near San Diego but the local club there is SCAT (Southern Cali autocross team) . We are sponsored by Webbmotorsports in the Cooper Works mini, the owner is Randy Webb, tell him Grant Barclay sent you.
HTH ask if you have questions
