Porsche Shoots Down Proposed MINI Race At Road Atlanta

MINI’s challenge to race their Cooper S against a Porsche at Road Atlanta didn’t go over so well. The publicity stunt initiated by MINI USA’s Jim McDowell was met with a terse and dismissive response by Porsche Cars North America CEO Detlev Von Platen today, as he issued a statement where he declined McDowell’s challenge, and invited them to come play with the big boys at places like Sebring and LeMans.

McDowell has previously challenged Porsche to attend a race at Road Atlanta on June 21st, pitting the Mini Cooper S against a Porsche 911 Carrera S. The terms of the race were unspecified, and no further information was given beyond McDowell’s vague challenge.

To view Porsche’s response, hit the jump

[Source: The Truth About Cars]

Dear Jim,

Imagine our surprise to discover our former employee, now the head of Mini, has challenged us to a head-to-head race. As you surely know, Porsche has a long history of racing success, with more than 28,000 wins over the last 60 years. In our early days, we pitted ourselves against the giants, so we’ve been in your shoes.

But as you also know, Porsche doesn’t race for fame, stunts or publicity. We race to challenge ourselves; we race to push sports car technology; we race to translate every win on the track to our cars on the road.  If you need a reminder of our intent, please take a look at this short video: http://tinyurl.com/37xdjqx

While your challenge seems like a fun and lighthearted campaign, we’ll stick to racing the way we have over the decades. We welcome you at Sebring, Le Mans, Daytona or any other sanctioned race where there is more at stake than T-shirts and valet parking spaces. We also invite you to any of the thousands of tracks around the world where Porsche owners compete each weekend.

Good luck with your race at Road Atlanta on June 21; we hope you enjoy the day.

Sincerely,

Detlev Von Platen President and CEO, Porsche Cars North America