MF Exclusive: Prodrive Countryman WRC Brochure
With the announcement that MINI is heading to the WRC, Prodrive will be selling complete Countryman rally race cars for any team willing to write the check. This not only helps defray the costs (producing more drives component costs down) but also speeds up development. In order to jump start orders for the 2011 season, Prodrive has released an official Countryman WRC brochure to spell out the various versions and packages available to race teams. It’s a great read and one that gives you some insight into all that goes into a professional racing program.
So the big question how much does the Countryman WRC rally car cost? Packages will start at a cool £346,000 (around $540,000) and will go up the more support you require from Prodrive. Interested? Download the official brochure below and give them a ring.
<p>I wonder if the $540,000 will include one free year of Sirius?</p>
<p>Does the brochure not strike anyone else as a little…home-made?
I mean…are you gonna spend $540,000 on a car when all you have in the brochure is an ‘artists impression’ of the vehicle?
Nevermind that the ONLY is widely available on the internet..as is Prodrive’s address and contact details..?
Yeah the font is convincing but..I smell a rat!</p>
<p>$540,000 is a reasonable price for a latest generation factory spec WRC race car.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>are you gonna spend $540,000 on a car when all you have in the brochure is an ‘artists impression’ of the vehicle?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>No. You’ll surely be wined and dined by Prodrive in person and given every kind of insight that we don’t have into the car. This brochure is just the very first step that lays out the offerings.</p>
<p>I was just about to say same thing. If you are shopping race cars the brochure is something you would look at and appreciate but the correspondence and in-person meetings at Prodrive’s facilities would be the next very real step towards outfitting a team with one of the rally-reg MINIs. You don’t buy a race car – even a “turn-key” – the same way you buy a street car… not if your team is serious about being competitive anyway. So the brochure is cool… but no need to over-analyze it from street car consumer marketing perspective.</p>
<p>I’m really looking forward to cheering for these cars!</p>
<p>What do you think, will this make a good auto-x car? Any idea what class it will run in?</p>
<p>Should be a blast watching Pro-drive again, could care less about which car they run but having it a MINI should make it more fun. I am hoping to see a few other teams run this car, the fact that Pro-drive is behind it really should help those chances.</p>
<p>Not a bad price on the technology that they are developing. I am sure MINI is already working on designing the eventual official WRC tribute stickers package for the production cars.</p>
<p>Cool Brochure, too bad that the cars from MINI don’t come with that kind of support but I guess it would add a bunch of $$$ to the sticker.</p>
p>@BilboBaggins,</p
<p>$540,000.00 is quite a bunch to pay to kill some cones.</p>
<p>Also likely 540k would be a lot to spend to be spanked by a lightweight Miata on the autocross. lol</p>
<p>this makes me wonder how the aftermarket world is going to tune the countryman. i’d love to have a countryman with the prodrive bodywork.</p>
<p>Would not be suprised to see somebody in the aftermarket does this. M7 for example has been trying their hand already at parts from the jcw race cars already. I would rather have the suspension they are developing over the body kit.</p>
<p>@B and JonPD. You obviously don’t know the real cost of building a World Championship Rally car or a top line circuit car. This type of money is spent by factory teams quite regularly. Its not your car club special. WRC is a serious rally series, including Citroen (who are leading the championship so far, Ford Focus, Subaru, Mitsubishi Evo, etc, etc.
WRC is the Formula 1 of Rallying. Not for the faint-hearted either. In fact its terrifying just watching the events. So someones remark about going around a few marker cones is way off the mark.</p>
<p>Greg don’t think I need any explanation of this, I have been a active fan of WRC for decades and a general racing fan longer. Also unlike many WRC fans I have been road side to watch several of these races before.</p>
<p>I have seen amateur racers in SCCA lay down 100k on their weekend toys let alone the money that any racing team uses to develop and maintain their cars. I just was saying that I believe that somebody like M7 will see the fervor of people that like the look and will try to come up with something (yes this will be a long ways from being a WRC racer). My statement about the suspension was tongue in cheek, not likely to see a suspension on a MINI that is worth twice as much as the base car lol.</p>
<p>@ Greg W</p>
<p>My comment was stating that it would be a bit overkill to buy one of these for auto x parking lot events.</p>
<p>I do know the racing industry as I am part of it. I know what goes into building purpose built cars as these builders are our customers.</p>
<p>Thanks for comments guys – no offence meant.</p>
<p>None taken Greg, don’t worry about it. You have lots of insights and views that are worth reading. Speaking broadly Motoringfile does have lots of passionate MINI enthusiasts with lots of different views, but that is a good part I enjoy reading the site.</p>