Four Wheel Drive Cooper S Proves 10% Faster in Testing

A four wheel drive Mini Cooper S outfitted by Getrag is 10% faster than a standard Cooper S. The  system is actually more of a rear-wheel set-up that puts power to the front wheels if the electronic control system senses a loss of traction.

Getrag, who currently produces the gearboxes for the MINI range, has developed and tested their own 4x4 MINI Cooper S, and have seen great results, including showing that the 4x4 MINI is 10% faster than the traditional two wheel drive Cooper S.

The system is not a permanent four wheel drive system, but is primarily rear wheel drive, with power shifted to the front wheels if the electronic control system senses a loss of traction at the rear.

The power of the all-wheel drive MINI is not divided evenly over all wheels. Most of the power is sent initially to the rear wheels. However once the system senses a loss of traction, the power is distributed more evenly to the front wheels. On the test track the all-wheel drive MINI appeared 10 per cent faster than the standard front wheel drive car.

It is unclear if BMW will actually produce this car (or a version of it), but it seems when Getrag showed BMW their work they were "interested" to see the development. While the prototype was created solely by Getrag, execs at BMW appear to be closely following the development. BMW development leader Burkhard Goschel has already ridden in the prototype and, according to Getrag, was “impressed”.