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MINI’s rally adventure

We chart the firm’s WRC history and its return to rallying in 2011.

By Tom Phillips

July 2010
MINI will return to rallying next year with a car based on the new Countryman crossover. It will be built by Banbury-based specialists Prodrive and powered by a highly tuned 1.6-litre turbo engine made by BMW Motorsport in Germany.

The engine will drive all four wheels as per the WRC’s latest 2011 regulations, and will take the fight Citroen’s new DS3 and Ford’s Fiesta rally cars.

But MINI’s rallying history stretches much further back. The original Mini is synonymous with giant-killing performances on the Monte Carlo rally in the 1960s, taking overall wins in 1964, ’65 and ’67.

BMW is no stranger to rallying either, winning the Austria rally in the first year of the World Rally Championship in 1973. However the firm hasn’t taken the top spot since 1987. But that win for the M3 was taken using a car built by Prodrive, who will look to win again from 2011.
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MINI's road to the WRC   MINI's road to the WRC   MINI's road to the WRC   MINI's road to the WRC
1. MINI's road to the WRC

MINI's return to rallying is heavily influenced by the original's success (note the number on the door).

 

 



  
2. MINI's road to the WRC

Here's the original Mini Cooper S doing what it does best - taking on the Monte Carlo rally in 1965.



  
3. MINI's road to the WRC

Heading up into the Alps, the Mini's low power but low weight made it skim across the snow and ice.



  
4. MINI's road to the WRC

The original Mini quickly became a hero on the rally stages, winning the Monte Carlo rally three times.
 
MINI's road to the WRC   MINI's road to the WRC   MINI's road to the WRC   MINI's road to the WRC
5. MINI's road to the WRC

BMW won the Austria rally with a car based on its 2002 saloon. The co-driver was current FIA boss Jean Todt.



  
6. MINI's road to the WRC

BMW's last WRC success was a win on the 1987 Corsica Rally...



  
7. MINI's road to the WRC

... the win came with an M3 built by Prodrive and driven by Frenchman Bernard Béguin.

 



  
8. MINI's road to the WRC

Prodrive will build the Countryman WRC. The firm masterminded Colin McRae's world title in 1995...
 
MINI's road to the WRC   MINI's road to the WRC   MINI's road to the WRC   MINI's road to the WRC
9. MINI's road to the WRC

... and took Brit Richard Burns to the WRC title in 2001, again in a Subaru Impreza.



  
10. MINI's road to the WRC

The BMW MINI has already been active in motorsport with its own race series called the MINI Challenge.



  
11. MINI's road to the WRC

MINI has experimented with electric racers too. Here's the MINI E Race sets a Nurburgring record.



  
12. MINI's road to the WRC

And here's the new car. Testing begins in August, with the first cars being delivered to customers by the end of the year.
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