MINI Countryman goes WRC

MINI Countryman WRC - MINI are going rallying again

Back when Adam was a lad (as was I, coincidentally) Mini were big in rallying. In fact they wiped the floor with just about everyone else in the ’60s, winning the Monte Carlo Rally three times in the decade.

And now BMW are planning a proper foray back in to WRC with a MINI Countryman WRC prepared in conjunction with Prodrive and featuring a 1.6 litre turbo from BMW Motorsport and AWD.

Prodrive have been working on the MINI Countryman WRC since last year and from 2011 it will compete in a number of rounds of the World Rally Championship and a full season in 2012.

This isn’t just a half-hearted effort by BMW to get some cheap publicity for the MINI Countryman, but a full blown BMW effort to secure a title. Prodrive boss David Richards has said that Prodrive – who took Subaru to 6 worlkd championships – were targeting a three year window to take a title for the MINI.

No news on drivers, and we guess Paddy Hopkirk and Rauno Altonen are a bit long in the tooth for a return. But it will be great to see MINI back rallying again.

By Cars UK