"How would this engine perform inside a small car?" is probably one of the questions of many mechanics as they do maintenance work or repair a superbike engine. Well, some of them get past the time of questions and want to see how things actually work. So seeing the racer in the video below is not a surprise but a most welcome encounter.
The car appears to be a modified Mini, and please do correct us if we're wrong. It received a heart transplant from a Kawasaki Ninja ZX10-R donor and with it, a new chance of turning heads on the road.
This car is definitely not your usual city slicer to drive every day to work, even though, with some efforts, one could maybe get it homologated for street use.
Torque is the key
Sound and evil character aside, this Renault Ninja is as fun as it gets. Still, its engine, which is the main source of fun, is also the biggest drawback. Tha is because the Ninja engine produces real torque and power only in the high revs.
While this represents no problem on a motorcycle, having it powering a car is a different thing, altogether. Allowing the engine to drop to the lower rpm zone means it will lack the needed grunt for corner exit. It might be able to claw back those tenths in longer straight lines or wider turns, and still be very fun, anyway.
However, if you decide to keep it close to the redline and start drifting around the corners, we might be talking about a car so cool that's hard to begin to describe...
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