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WRC Mini Concept (2010) first official pictures

While the Mini Countryman might be destined for suburban mumsville, BMW has confirmed the new model will also terrorise the countryside in the form of the WRC Mini from 2011, with IRC champ Kris Meeke at the wheel. Officially launched at the 2010 Paris motor show in concept guise, the WRC Mini will be engineered and run by motorsport doyen Dave Richards and his Prodrive outfit, although customer packages will be available too, allowing independents to compete in the car. Not so much – this is no time for misty-eyed Paddy Hopkirk odes.

Citroën designers: Design students have 'golden opportunity'

Today's car design students "have got a fantastic opportunity in a very different world," say Citroën designers. Though the automotive industry has been suffering in many regions in the current economic climate, the next generation of car designers "have got a fantastic opportunity," says Andrew Cowell, Senior Design Manager at Citroën, in conversation with Car Design News at the Royal College of Art, London. "The industry will evolve quite a lot, and these guys (the students on the postgraduate Vehicle Design course) will come out into a very different world." "They'll start in a very interesting period", says Alexandre Malval, Citroën Design Director and himself a graduate from the RCA course.

Mini Vision concept previews future cars

Mini has just given fans of the British marque a glimpse at the future design elements that we're going to get with upcoming cars -- and those design elements and ideas can be seen in the Mini Vision concept. Perhaps the first thing that jumps out visually about this concept car is the fact that the bumper and the auxiliary lights have been integrated into the grille, giving the car's nose a slimmer appearance. All the classic Mini design cues are still there, though the car seems to have gotten a bit taller.