Video: Mighty Mini dispatches Lotus Cortina and Jaguar Mk1 in Goodwood battle

19th June 2020

Seán Ward

We’ve posted tens, if not hundreds, of Mini videos over the years, and why? Because in the dry and the wet they are hilariously entertaining, and that all comes down to the fact that they’re so quick through the corners but slower than almost everything else down the straights.

That much was as clear in 1998 as it is today. In this little clip, taken from the St Mary’s Trophy, a feisty Mini comes up against a Jaguar Mk1 and a Lotus Cortina. Both of these cars are bigger, with more powerful engines and much more straight-line performance. But does that bother the Mini? No, not in the slightest. Where the Lotus but particularly the Jaguar roll, the Mini corners flat. Where the Lotus and the Jaguar brake, the Mini can keep going for quite some time. Another David and Goliath fight, and one we can’t stop watching.