As is my custom, I gave away the punchline before telling the story. Whitney and I had an ‘05 MINI Cooper (stock: 115hp), with the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT)
CVT’s fascinate me…imagine two pulleys connected by a belt. If the ratio of the pulleys remains the the same, you get a defined gear ratio. Thing is, in a CVT, the pulleys can vary their diameter, and hence the amount of mechanical advantage they provide. Great technology, but CVT’s are a dead end: No design yet devised can reliably handle much more than 200 ft-lbs of torque, so they’re only good for small cars.
Basically, the Chili Red w/white top Cooper was a dud, and I tie it directly to the tranny. Ponderously slow, the thing couldn’t get out of its own way in traffic.
On the bright side, the steering was tight, and I really liked how they retuned the suspension.