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"My college sports-car club had a Yugo we raced in SCCA autocrosses. We modified the suspension a bit, took out some weight, and added a two-barrel Fiat carburetor (the Yugo design is by Fiat)."

Yup, autocross is a fun thing, and takes lots of practice and skill. I used to run the Sprite in those, too, but it was just a slice under-powered. This was between 1963 and 1965.

But I remember one big autocross sponsored by my college sports car club. There was this guy who pulled up in the very first Mini I'd seen. It wasn't a Cooper, but he had a 1275 engine in it anyhow, tuned to the limit.

A bunch of folks were standing around this little box on skate wheels, laughing and joking about it being this little toy car.

But, then the guy took the course in his Mini. Best time of the day on his first run, and he bettered that on his second. Lots of wide eyes.

I had a Mini Cooper later on, and was always amazed by it. It just sort of squatted down there and went wherever you pointed it without much ado. What a blast!

I bet the first Minis surprised a bunch of folks at the autocrosses in those days. It didn't take too long for most of the people who showed up to our autocrosses to figure out that the Yugo had some ringer drivers, but occasionally some people were surprised by what sort of car autocrossed well. Miatas are incredible, as are Si versions of Civics and CRXs.

Our club president got a job as a test-track driver for Michelin. He brought a C4 Vette down one day for a race, which I thought would be too big and ponderous, but he hustled that thing around like a far more powerful Miata. I had a lot more respect for Vettes after that day, especially in the hands of a pro driver.

My favorite trick to decrease lap times - let the club president ride a lap in my car with me in the passenger seat. My next trip around would usually drop in time significantly.