and drag race them. To that effect, there was a Ford Mustang EcoBoost, a Subaru WRX, a VW GTI, a Hyundai Elantra N, a Mini Cooper S, a Mazda3 Turbo, and a Toyota GR86 all vying for top honors.

So it’s come to this: The latest Mini Cooper not only does not offer a manual transmission, but this two-door Cooper S Hardtop, ostensibly among the sportier Hardtop models, lacks any manual ...