Mini John Cooper Works Rally

Mini Countryman against Peugeot 3008 is a whole lot more interesting on the Dakar!

By Matt Bird / Thursday, 17 November 2016 / Loading comments

You may well have seen in the wider motoring media this week the new Mini Countryman; bigger, cleverer and uglier than ever before. But there's another Mini Countryman just announced too, one far more interesting than the latest five-door Cooper SD: the John Cooper Works Rally.

Well it's still sort of a Mini

It's the new Mini rally raid car, designed for the Dakar and replacing the

Mini All4 Racing

. While sharing fundamental similarities with that car, a raft of tweaks and enhancements have sought to make it more competitive than ever. It's more aerodynamic - yes, really - than before, the slipperier shape benefitting both stability and fuel consumption. Useful when you have whole countries to cross as fast as possible. The 3.0-litre straight-six diesel engine has been reworked to be more efficient and powerful too; it's up from 307hp and 516lb ft to 340hp and 590lb ft, with new mapping to improve consumption. With this year's Dakar taking place 3,000m above sea level in Bolivia, an engine needs to be able to cope with little oxygen.

In addition the centre of gravity has been reduced too, which should aid handling significantly. It's said that around 50kg of the car's weight has been moved down 50cm. Also new for the John Cooper Works Rally is a front subframe designed with X-Raid; it's removable, which means that an engine can be changed (you never know what might happen) in just over an hour (!).

Elsewhere it's like the previous ALL4, with XTrac locking differentials, a Sadev sequential gearbox and Reiger adjustable suspension with up to 250mm of travel. There are, of course, some comically short overhangs too for the benefit of approach and departure angles.

This car will make its competitive debut at the Dakar rally in January - an event Peugeot won last year - and is currently undergoing final testing in Morocco. It may not make you want a Countryman any more, but it's a rather interesting rally car nonetheless!