MINI to Introduce Countryman WRC Rally Car this Week
The long long rumored Prodrive WRC rally entry looks to finally come to fruition this week. AutosportMini’s first-ever World Rally Car, which will be based on the Countryman road car, has been in preparation for months at Prodrive’s Banbury base and the BMW 1.6-litre turbocharged engine recently arrived to turn a rolling shell into a full World Rally Car. Testing of the new machine is expected to begin soon and, as technical director David Lapworth said, once it starts testing it will not stop.
>”When we start testing on our rally car development programme, it will be intensive,” said Lapworth. “We still have a good timescale to work towards for testing and we’re happy with where we’re at.”
>Some sources have indicated Mini will formally launch the car in Rome just ahead of the Rally d’Italia-Sardegna in May next season – the car is not expected to compete in any of the first four rounds of next year’s World Rally Championship.
>Prodrive has remained tight-lipped about any announcement this week, denying that it has anything planned. The British preparation firm has yet to even admit to any kind of agreement with BMW or Mini – even though AUTOSPORT broke the story of Mini’s return to rallying’s highest level in August last year.
You can read the rest here.
This highly anticipated WRC entry will be the first factory backed MINI rally effort in decades and the first time MINI has officially participated in a FIA sanctioned series ever. It will also be the philosophical basis of a stripped down JCW version of the Countryman due in the next few years.
We’ll have much more later this week.
<p>It’d be nice to know if this will be made available to the public at a fairly reasonable price. Not a stripped model, but without many of the bells and whistles that we come to expect, or demand. Something that weighs in at the 2500 lbs range. Still don’t like four doors.</p>
<p>This is a racecar, not a production model…and I can’t wait to see it. I love watching WRC!</p>
<p>You know, racecar spelled backwards is…racecar.</p>
<p>Can’t wait to hear more!</p>
<p>Can’t wait to see what Prodrive comes up with. While not a R60 fan I do love WRC and Prodrives previous work.</p>
<p>I am sure this is going to be a broadly different car than anything we would ever see from the factory. Prodrive could turn just about any awd into a solid WRC entry. Still kinda humors me that many of us that are wanting the jcw to be much more than it is that we will see a proper JCW. Of course the difference is that MINI didn’t produce it.</p>
<p>Ohh boy! What a test bed for the rest of the cars. I can’t imagine what this little beast will look like. Prodrive has it’s work cut out in the Countryman’s transformation from awkward to awesome. Then perhaps it will be a “No Countryman for Old Men”.</p>
<p>Fantastic news… MINI’s factory-backing of a WRC car has single-handedly changed my opinion of the R60… cannot wait to see the ProDrive car later this week!</p>
<p>I can’t wait to see this car!</p>
<p>Still betting on them being spanked by Kimi over the season but racing a loosing is still better than not. Lets just hope MINI leverages this into making jcw less of a bad joke.</p>
<p>This is the confirmation that we have all been waiting for, its FANTASTIC news and just like everyone else…I CANT WAIT!!!</p>
<p>Nice.</p>
<p>The WRC tie in is the one thing that makes me excited about the Countryman, hope they make a road going homage to the WRC version – that could be very interesting.</p>
<p>Pretty sure they will Adrian.</p>
<p>“It will also be the philosophical basis of a stripped down JCW version of the Countryman due in the next few years.”</p>
<p>Let just hope its more than gaudy stickers and a stock suspension.</p>
<blockquote>Let just hope its more than gaudy stickers and a stock suspension.
</blockquote>
<p>Are you serious? Since when has the John Cooper Works brand been about “gaudy stickers”? I’ve never seen a JCW with gaudy stickers that weren’t added by the owner. Are you simply trying to post something inflamatory just to get a reacton?</p>
<p>If they make a WRC JCW Countryman, I will buy it.</p>
<p>Well Craig, stop and think a moment about every current rally car. Plastered corner to corner with gaudy stickers heh. However the completely inadequate stock suspension (for self proclaimed sports car) was aimed firmly at MINI and the jcw sub-brand.</p>
<p>It would be great if this meant that MINI might try to bring out a Countryman production model to compete with the long-dominant WRC-bred twins: STI and Evo. The MINI’s weight advantage is a great starting point, but there will still be a <i>very</i> long way to go before they can get it into that league. Months after test driving an Evo, I still have flashbacks. Really amazing car. If they can get the Countryman to within spitting distance of Evo performance at a comparable price, I’d be very interested.</p>
<p>well it will be intresting if they can gain 300bhp and 350lbs of torque from a 1.6 turbo so don’t be surprised if the engine is replaced with a 2.0 turbo. also don’t be surprised if the 4 wheel drive X drive isn’t replaced as well. These things on there own will make the car more expensive and heavier!!! But i will still enjoy the countryman i have on order (done only on photo’s)and some spec sheets</p>
<p>ya know what i’m sayin?</p>
<p>I would worry more about the two brands that are owning the season Citroen and Ford. They are also the only factory teams. Only one team currently runs Subaru and its not a factory team.</p>
<p>Still makes me grin that MINI waited until the R60 to play. While its true its the first with awd yet if you look at most of the cars that play they are massively modified and many were just 2wd converted to awd for the rally. Rally cars only share a passing resemblance to the original cars, they share body panels and that largely about it.</p>
<blockquote>I would worry more about the two brands that are owning the season Citroen and Ford.</blockquote>
<p>Worry about what, exactly? Neither Ford nor Citroen offer a Rally-derived AWD production car in the US. The only competitors in that category are the STI and Evo. The Golf R will be here soon, but my sense is that it will be down a notch on performance and has no WRC development roots, afaik.</p>
<p>I could care less how well MINI does in WRC. I just want the WRC effort to result in an affordable, practical, high-performance AWD car that I can buy here in the US. If there are any other options beyond the STI and Evo on the market, I would love to hear about them. Cuz while those two cars are incredible performance bargains, they are not exactly lookers.</p>
<p>None of the cars in WRC are good examples of the production cars. A successful WRC car is actually very simular to each other. They are gutted and rebuilt as race cars. What makes WRC a blast is that the main difference (outside of factory teams with deep pockets) is the driver. Btw you cannot buy a AWD RS in Europe either. Ford doesn’t make a awd version, rather the car’s underpinnings are changed to give it awd.</p>
<p>Either way always glad to see more cars and brands coming to WRC. The base fact is that it does not matter who produces a good wrc they you will never see a closely related version on the streets here. I am sure MINI will try to leverage this into making a performance jcw R60, outside of the body panel and badges though it will have little to do with the WRC race car.</p>
<blockquote>I am sure MINI will try to leverage this into making a performance jcw R60, outside of the body panel and badges though it will have little to do with the WRC race car.</blockquote>
<p>Jon, I don’t think we are communicating. The STI and Evo have little to do with the WRC racers, but they are amazing, affordable AWD performance cars that were “inspired” by their WRC counterparts.</p>
<p>I’m just asking that this WRC-inspired “performance jcw R60” as you call it:
(1) is actually manufactured
(2) have performance on par with STI or Evo
(3) be priced comparably as well</p>
<p>The chances seem slim, but let’s hope.</p>
<p>Missed that that.guy.</p>
<p>Yep I expect the R60 jcw to be a decent car. I however still would not hold my breath for anything close performance wise to the STI or EVO. I however expect it to be better than the current R56 jcw.</p>
<p>Agreed. Unless the R60 JCW or GTI-R really surprise me, my next car will likely be an STI hatchback.</p>
<p>couldn’t have said it any better than “That guy”</p>
<p>Did I miss something?</p>