Torque Autos December 2016
Works sub-brand."
X-raid is motorsport partner to MINI
and pivotal to its modern day racing suc‐
cess by providing the necessary race sup‐
port. Sven Quandt, CEO, X-raid said at
the reveal of the new MINI John Cooper
Works Rally:
"he all-new MINI John Cooper Works
Rally is obviously great; is completely
different to the predecessor model we
built upon and developed; it's a car based
on thorough development as well in the
wind tunnel. We have achieved better
aerodynamics from this and, along with
other new features; we have improved
performance from this car.
"One of the advantages of wind tunnel
development is a higher top speed and
better acceleration from 140 km/h up‐
wards - these were crucial areas for im‐
provement. he centre of gravity has
gone down substantially - we placed
about 50 kilos downwards by some 50
centimetres in the centre of the car,
which helps the handling and makes the
car much more comfortable over all
types of terrain, and aids the handling on
3
a rally track with lots of corners. In all: a
comprehensive new and exciting pack‐
age."
MINI John Cooper Works Rally: tech‐
nical speciications
• Engine: BMW Group TwinPower
Turbo Six-Cylinder Diesel
• Output: 340 bhp / 3250 rpm
• Torque (approx.): 800 Nm / 1850
rpm
• Capacity: 2993 cc
• Air restrictor: 38 mm diameter
• Top speed (approx.): 184 km/h
• Transmission: six-speed sequential
gearbox
• Braking: 4 x six-piston calipers air-cooled front, air / water-cooled
rear. Discs: 320 x 32 mm
• Length / width / height: 4350 /
1999 / 2000 mm
• Wheel base: 2900 mm
• Track width: 1736 mm
• Weight: 1952,5 kg
• Fuel tank capacity (approx): 385
litres
• Chassis: tubular steel with com‐
posite bodywork
• Tyres: BF Goodrich 245/80R 16
MINI, heritage in Motorsport
In the 1960s, tuner and race car produc‐
er John Cooper became a household
name with his powerful, sporting Mini
Cooper S. In short, John Cooper trans‐
formed the great British small-car into a
sporting legend with success in many in‐
ternational and national rally series. he
brand Mini subsequently became syn‐
onymous with rally-sport.
he rich heritage of race-proven MINI
performance lives on with today's MINI
John Cooper Works range of MINI cars.
When the irst new genre of Britishmanufactured MINI Cooper cars ap‐
peared in 2001, it was obvious the re‐
launched brand had inherited motor‐
sport traits from its famous namesake.
Together with engine tuning, component
upgrades and exquisite styling cues
available with the MINI John Cooper
Works range, MINI and motorsport are
a polished combination that will contin‐
ue to shine as MINI Motorsport
Despite very short development time,
MINI Motorsport with the MINI ALL4
Racing - derived from the 2012 John
Cooper Works Countryman - achieved
incredible racing success in the world of
cross-country rally. he toughest chal‐
lenge of this motorsport discipline is,
without doubt, the race-of-all-races - the
annual, long-distance rally-raid that is
known as the Dakar Rally.
Such was the brilliance and ultimately
the superiority of this racing car, in the
experienced hands of rally specialists Xraid and driven by passionate racing
crews of the MINI ALL4 Racing family,
these cars went on to win "he Dakar"
over four consecutive years: 2012, 2013,
2014 and 2015. In 2016, MINI repeated
the status of winner of the four-wheel
drive ranking.
Competing within the FIA Cross Coun‐
try Rally World Cup, MINI again
demonstrated how success breeds suc‐
cess. Following the irst World Cup win
in 2012, this success was repeated over
the next three years (2013-2015) much
to the dismay of the competition.