MINI to join World Rally Championship from 2011

MINI is to compete in selected rounds of the 2011 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), and contest the entire season from 2012.

Marking the return of one of rally’s most illustrious competitor, the MINI Countryman will be charged with the task, boasting a 1.6-litre, four-cylinder turbo-charged engine from BMW Motorsport. The MINI’s driver lineup is yet to be confirmed but the Countryman will be available to customer teams beginning in autumn.

Speaking on the prospect of MINI’s long awaited-return, Prodrive chairman David Richards re-iterated the fabled history left by the MINI’s giant-killing legacy, stating “This is a very exciting new motorsport programme.”

Richards then added that “during the 1960s MINI captured the imagination of the world when the tiny car took on the might of V8 powered Fords and won what was then one of the toughest motorsport events, the 4000km Monte Carlo rally.”

“I believe our new MINI will become a firm favourite of the latest generation of rally fans, just as it is adored by its millions of owners across the world.”