Press release

PENULTIMATE DRIVE OF MTTS 2016 GETS OFF TO A THUNDEROUS START

Over 600 MINIs rolled into Las Vegas on MINI TAKES THE STATES 2016, determined to enjoy a short stay in Sin City during the penultimate stop of their epic road trip across the USA.

On Day 13 of the cross-country motoring adventure, around 1,300 motorers departed from Park City UT, for the longest single day’s drive, a distance of 423 miles.

Before leaving Utah, the participants were treated to a visual and sonic demonstration of epic proportions by the crew of a jet-powered racing car during a brief stop at Rocky Mountain Raceways in West Valley City. Any MINI enthusiasts who were still half awake at the morning Rise and Shine event, were quickly and suddenly awakened by the awesome power and thunderous 12,000 horsepower boom of the car’s F2 Banshee fighter jet engine on reheat.

As the jet engine fired up, a massive burst of flame and the engine’s blast promptly destroyed a Nissan sedan that had been deliberately parked in the engine’s jet blast zone. Watching motorers were left in no doubt why jet car racing is described as the most dangerous motorsport in the USA.

During the demonstration, they heard that while a MINI can achieve 31 miles per gallon, the jet car would use 4,300 gallons of aviation fuel to travel those 31 miles, and that it exerts a force of 6g during full acceleration, the same as that achieved by the space shuttle.

On the way to Las Vegas, where a temperature of 111 degrees F greeted MTTS 2016, the rally passed through the 4,000-mile point since the epic road trip departed from Atlanta, GA, on July 9. MTTS has now passed through 18 of the 19 states and 14 of the 15 cities and only the final 350-mile sprint to Palm Springs, CA, lies ahead.