ERA Mini Turbo

The
E.R.A Mini Turbo was conceived as a 1980s replacement for the Mini
Cooper S. A car with all the key characteristics of the Cooper speed,
handling, excitement - but one which would introduce into the concept the
refinement
and comfort lacking in the original, but so necessary for modern
motoring.

E.R.A set out to engineer a car to the highest automotive standards.
There would be no compromise on engineering quality. The car should
use as many tried and tested standard Austin Rover components as possible.
It should minimise the use of special tooling to avoid lengthy testing
and uneconomic
production batches. It should be easily and readily serviceable by any Austin Rover dealer.

The car should be styled so as to be instantly recognisable as a Mini, and
yet to be distinctive. It was to be trimmed and equipped internally to modern
standards, but with a hint of classicism no digital instruments or
super modern gimmicks.

It was to be the fastest ever production Mini, but not by using an intractable
high revving competition engine. It must have excellent torque and mid range
performance to cope with modern traffic conditions.

It was to be safe and predictable in the hands of the inexperienced.

E.R.A believes that these demanding criteria have been met satisfactorily.

The body modifications and spoilers were styled by Dennis Adams, the designer
of the Marcos sports cars and the Probe concept car.

It is aggressive without being boy racer. And the body kit is properly tooled to
provide a good fit on the Mini shell and be of considerable strength.

The interior is almost totally changed. Gone are the standard Mini seats and
the 'bus driver' position. Gone also is the noise and harshness of the standard car.
Specially designed and tested sports style seats have been installed, giving excellent support and
comfort.

The car has a full range of VDO traditional dial instrumentation on an entirely
new instrument panel. A sunroof lightens the interior and the car is trimmed
in a careful combination of best Connolly hide, cloth, ambla and deep sound
deadening carpet.

The power for the E.R.A Mini comes from the well tried Austin Rover A series
1300 turbo engine which gives a smooth and reliable 94 bhp at 6200 rpm but,
more important than out and out power, the mid range torque has been matched
by careful testing on the E.R.A test beds to suit the required performance of
the car. It is easily sufficient to provide excitement and satisfaction to the
user, yet docile in traffic.

Installation of the turbo unit in a Mini involved modification of the body
shell and many hours of development to ensure that the tight squeeze did nothing
to impair reliability. Modifications to the water and oil cooling systems ensure
that the power unit and transmission remain adequately cool even in high ambient
temperatures.

Of course more power in a Mini would be useless and potentially dangerous without
adequate suspension and brakes. Suspension modification was planned using computer
simulation and then tried out in practice at racing speeds on high speed test
tracks and at Castle Combe race track.

Specially made lower front suspension arms provide the necessary 1.5 degrees
of negative camber which, combined with increased front wheel toe-out, minimises
torque steer; a common problem with powerful front wheel drive cars. New adjustable
damper units and bump stops are fitted all round and the car is lowered.

The car is fitted with ventilated front discs and four pot callipers and modified
drum rear brakes. A servo system ensures acceptably light pedal pressures. Extensive
development work has been carried out on the braking system to optimise stability
under harsh braking conditions.

All alloy, one piece, 6 x 13 wheels are used all round with
either Goodyear or Dunlop 165:13:60 section, low profile tyres HR rated. The
wheels have been fully impact and fatigue tested
and each wheel is fitted with a disc type knave plate and tamper proof lock.

One of the press pictures.

The ERA Mini is far more than just an engine conversion, although
just swapping the engines seems such a logical move that you wonder why there
isn't a thriving cottage industry engaged in making demon Minis, like latter
day John Coopers.

As we'll see, there's rather more to it than just dropping in the engine
and ERA are determined to do it properly, reworking other elements of the
car to
produce a car that can handle the extra power and performance as though it
were
made for it. Although out of the public gaze for so long, ERA have a reputation
inside the industry to protect and have to get this car right as it has to
be
a success to allow them to carry on and build the next project, which will
have far more overt ERA content.

Nevertheless the foundation of the ERA Mini
is an ordinary Mini City selected off the production line, painted and
with glass fitted. Once that's
arrived at ERA's Dunstable works, a team of three descends on the car and
the conversion unfolds.

The engine is the standard Metro Turbo unit, the old
A-Series (or rather A Plus after its update of a few years ago) in
1275cc form. Despite the
presence
of
a substantial Garrett AiResearch T3 turbo, it runs a 9.4:1 compression
ratio without complaint.

The ERAs plush interior.