km : Motorsport News

Paddy Hopkirk didn't need all-wheel drive to win the 1963 Monte Carlo rally in a Mini. Or a turbocharger, for that matter. But here in 2010, the WRC's Super2000 regulations actually require both of those things, along with an engine displacement of 1.6 liters. Looking at those requirements and at the latest Mini's spec sheet, it almost seems, as strange as it is to say this about a crossover, that the Mini Countryman was bred for rally. Slap some knobby tires on and let's go racing.

Obviously the task isn't that simple. As a result, Mini has teamed up with the rally experts at Prodrive to prepare a proper race car for service and the project has actually been underway since early 2009. Test drives of the car will begin this fall in preparation for the 2011 season, in which the new car will participate in select events. This ramp-up will continue through next season and the Countryman will get a full-time job for 2012.

We don't need to tell you the cultural significance of Mini returning to rally racing. It's how the company built it's legendary reputation. In addition to being Mini's return to the sport after a long gap, the BMW Group as a whole has been out of the game for some time; the last WRC win for the Roundel was with an M3 in the 1987 Corsica rally. If you haven't watched that car, please leave now and go to Youtube (but come back again, of course.) We're eager to see real photos of this Countryman and we're also eager to see how it competes. But most of all, we just want Mini to build a homologation version for the road.

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