That is a very interesting comparison and one that will be a bit of a different experience answering here than other certain forums. Normally in answering this sort of question I run the risk of upsetting 66% of FPV owners with honest answers. To understand the difference of the typhoon in terms of performance in comparison with the Super Pursuit and the Mini MCS I need to explain what it was like when I had the Mini and the Super Pursuit. The Super Pursuit (and same for the GT) had many things going for it as a performance car, mostly even standard it had a pretty good exhaust note (particularly at full throttle), a nice lumpy idle and the bulge adds a lot of presence. Handling was good for near on 2000kg of car but when pushed the front tended to understeer and you could really feel the weight. The rear on most surfaces was quite planted and being live axle it does not suffer from torn diff bushes. The down side of this rear end is the fact that a mid corner bump often upsets the other side, that and axle tramp would often come in on hard launches making getting it off the line a challenge. Brakes were awesome considering the weight off the car but they were 6 spot brembo's. The annoying thing with this car in some respects was the one thing about it that was supposed to make it "the good aussie muscle car", by that I mean the engine. The Boss motor is a strange beast with multi cam heads on a long stroke largish capacity motor. The multi cam 32 valve heads make it a motor that likes to breathe in the upper rev range and this was evidenced by that definite lack of urge at fewer than 3000 rpm and the manic top end that all Boss motors have. The problem is that the rev limit comes in at 5900 so you have 2900 rpm to play in and the long stroke makes it a motor that does not really like to build revs quickly. I don't know how many times I was just starting to have fun and then all of a sudden the stock rev limiter just about put my head through the windscreen. This characteristic meant that you had to be right on top of things on the gear box to keep it in the fun part of the rev range and mistakes were punished brutally with lack lustre pull out of a corner. Having said all that, it was good fun car in general driving, the odd spirited drive and it did have one hell of a lot of street presence with a good talent for attracting admiring looks and the odd petrol station conversation. Now the Mini. This car is dead set good fun but in reality it is often hard to live with. It makes no sense at all with its complete lack of boot space, no usable rear seat (it has one but it is not usable) and a harsh ride that any long trip requires kidney belts. The funny thing is all these shortfalls constitute character and the common ground that all Mini owners understand and cherish. I have never met anyone that has said they are a practical car but they are fun. The saying that you buy a car but you adopt a Mini is so true. In a car that weighs just 1050kg, with 135kw, 280nm, wide track with a wheel at each corner the car handles and goes. The biggest issue with the handling is in the ability of FWD to put the torque to the ground especially when the inside wheel is unweighted in the absence of an LSD. Braking is unreal, stand on those bad boys and the front bar almost scrapes on the ground and you have to brace hard in the seat. These brakes outperformed both of my previous FPV's easily and last so long without fade which is something even the brembo's don't seem to match. Cornering speed of the Mini is in another league compared to any FPV and this comes down to that nice wide track, low height with a low centre of gravity and just over half the weight. The most fun is brake really late, turn into the corner and feel the inside rear wheel lift off the ground. That little 1.6 L turbo motor is a gem, more than enough power to have a lot of fun but it does not cost much considering I can be first away at every set of lights and experience the torque and strong acceleration frequently and it still returns a fuel economy of 7.5 L/100 km and a range of 750 km out of the 50 L tank. Compare that to the ute where driving it like and grandmother gets you 14.5 L/100 km and less and 400 km out of the 75 L tank. In terms of performance the Mini does not seem far behind the ute in acceleration, a feeling that is backed up by it’s ¼ mile time of 14.5 (the ute was never run at the track but it would do a low 14). It has great torque with it being at the top of its game from 1700-4500 and there is no need to take it to the 6000 rev limit. Basically I could jump out of the ute and into the Mini and in terms of power they do not feel that different, it was not until you accelerate at speeds such as 80-120 that the V8 displayed any real advantage. The disadvantage of the mini with the power compared to the ute really only came down to a RWD vs FWD thing. Now onto the latest toy, the F6 Typhoon which coincidentally is the same model as the Super Pursuit and therefore a good comparison in my view of the abilities of the V8 against the 6T. In terms of performance this thing is in a whole new league and punching way above it weight. It has more torque lower in the rev range (550 nm @ 2000) than the ute (520 nm @ 4500) and this results in a car that easier to drive and less likely to be caught unawares in a gear that it can not pull through the corner. In the ute it was a case of put the foot down and wait a while for the torque to come on, while in the f6 it is put the foot down and prepare to ride that wave of torque. The torque comes on so much stronger and so much earlier than the V8 it is a lot more rewarding to drive and you don’t have to thrash the rings out it to have any fun. In the ute I frequently hit the rev limiter to have any fun due to the narrow power range so high up in the rev range where in the F6 I have touched rev limit once and virtually have no need tot take it that high. I find in the F6 you change gear at 5000 and have the next gear in the meat of the torque curve, no where near the rev limit. The F6, even stock has so much grunt that it makes the Mini feel positively breathless. Every time I get out of the F6 into the Mini I am disappointed in the power of the Mini, with the ute this was not an issue. The biggest problem with the F6 compared to the Boss motor is the rear tyres, the F6 likes to break the back tyres loose and ride traction control if you are too heavy on the throttle, the V8 was a lot more forgiving and this shows in the rear tyre wear (yeah I know, not really a problem). In terms of handling the F6 sits between the ute and the Mini. It is considerably better than the ute with less weight over the front, less tendency to understeer and more planted in the rear with less likelihood to be unsettled from mid corner bumps due to the IRS. In comparison to the Mini the F6 is behind the eight ball, the Mini will out corner the F6 every time and can in general carry 15 km/h more corner speed without understeer or feeling like the tyres are being pushed (incidentally I am running the same Toyo Proxes T1R on both cars so it is not a tyre issue). The advantage the F6 has over the ute is in normal driving the F6 runs at about 2.5 L/100 km better in fuel consumption which equals about the same range out of the smaller 68 L tank, get heavy on the throttle and it drinks like a sailor but that is ok. The F6 is much more comfortable than the ute, mainly due to the seats as they are softer than the Super Pursuit seats but they also have less lateral support when cornering hard. As a car to drive for long distances the suspension and seats make the F6 a nicer place to be than the ute. So in summary the ute (and the GT before it) are good grand tourers with a reasonable amount of grunt and good comfort (GT better than ute), that also has a hell of a lot of street presence. The Mini is a great handling car that corners like nothing else I have driven with a good amount of power for corner to corner squirts, it is the best fun you can have on public roads with your clothes on. The F6 is just a monster, great looks (not as good as the Boss), very capable handling and so much power and torque it is addictive. The Boss knows how to talk the talk but the F6 knows how to walk the walk and that is what makes the F6 my personal favourite over any of the others.
