MINI Countryman Rally Car Passes First Round of WRC Tests

As previously reported, MINI is eager to get itself into the World Rally Car Championships with its Countryman crossover and reclaim some of the rallying glory its predecessor / inspiration had in the 1960s. And today, the British automaker released the first official picture of the Countryman WRC, which partner Prodrive has been busy testing at their Warwickshire proving grounds in rural England.


The Countryman-derived WRC prototype - which still wears MINI's signature psychedelic camouflage and a temporary body kit - has just successfully completed its first round of testing on tarmac and low grip surfaces at the Prodrive facility. The real test, however, will come when the car is sent to Portugal for a week of on-gravel testing. This phase will either make or break MINI's WRC bid.


Prodrive technical director David Lapworth isn't taking any chances: "As with any totally new car, it is vital to take time to ensure all the systems are working as intended before embarking on a weeklong gravel test,"


MINI and Prodrive are still finalizing the "look" of the car, with special focus on getting the WRC bodykit right for optimum aerodynamic performance and ground clearance.


By Tristan Hankins

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MINI to Enter WRC with the Help of Prodrive, Aims to Win Title Within Three Years!

After a long break, MINI is making a comeback in the world of rallying starting from next season with a Prodrive built and developed Countryman crossover. The BMW Group said that MINI, whose Cooper model won the Monte Carlo Rally three times in the 1960s, was planning its racing involvement "for several years".

The Countryman WRC complies with the new Super2000 regulations and will be powered by a 1.6-litre, four-cylinder turbo-charged engine from BMW Motorsport and have an all-wheel drive system. Prodrive, which ran Subaru's world championship-winning team until the Japanese automaker pulled out at the end of 2008, has been working on the development of the car since early 2009.

Testing of the Countryman WRC, which will also be available to customer teams, will start in autumn 2010, while from 2011, the brand will compete at selected rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) before completing the full series in 2012.

Prodrive boss, David Richards, told Reuters in a telephone interview that the target is to win the WRC title within three years.

"The target is clearly to be competitive from the outset and we have set a target with BMW and Mini of the world title within the next three years," said Richards.

"We [Prodrive] have got six world titles to our credit already so we've been there before and know what it takes to do it. We are setting about that task very meticulously."

The British firm has not made any announcement concerning the drivers, though there have been rumors about Marcus Gronholm and Markko Martin as well as Mads Ostberg.

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Subaru Impreza P1 Coupe Owners Celebrate 10th Anniversary

The first and only Subaru road car to bear the Prodrive name, the Impreza P1 coupe, is ten this year. To commemorate the event, 100 owners of the Impreza P1 made their way to Prodrive's headquarters at Banbury on Sunday 9 May. They were joined by some 300 owners of various Subaru Imprezas and more than 1,000 fans of the brand.


Considered by many as one of the most sought after limited edition Imprezas, the P1 was developed as a joint venture between Subaru UK, the Japanese firm's STI division and Prodrive, which was responsible for the automaker's WRC cars.


Based on the Japanese market Impreza Coupe, the P1 had significant enhancements engineered by Prodrive to the suspension, drivetrain, trim and aerodynamics.


It was powered by a modified version of the Impreza Turbo's boxer engine producing 280 horsepower and 363Nm of peak torque, compared to 218HP and 290Nm of the standard version


It came with Subaru's all-wheel drive system featuring a centre differential with viscous coupling while it also shared the Turbo's limited-slip rear differential.


British designer, Peter Stevens who was responsible for the McLaren F1 and Subaru WRC car developed a special front spoiler extension together with a new design of rear spoiler following extensive wind tunnel tests to reduce lift and improve balance.


The two-door car was unveiled by England's only World Rally Champion, the late Richard Burns, at the UK motorshow in 1999, and went on sale in 2000. At launch, Subaru and Prodrive planned a 500 car production run, but due to high demand a total of 1,000 examples were produced, all in the same unique blue color.

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Prodrive Launches New Subaru Impreza Group N Rally Car

Longtime Subaru specialist, Prodrive, has unveiled the Impreza N2010 rally car that complies with the Group N regulations. The five-door hathcback comes with a bevy of mechanical and chassis upgrades including a larger 33mm air restrictor, high flow fuel injectors and recalibrated ECU that help increase the 2.0-liter boxer engine's output by 20 horsepower and strengthened suspension that employs revised Ohlins dampers with extra travel front and rear.

"The engine and suspension changes make the N2010 far more competitive," said Graham Prew, Prodrive sales manager.

"On gravel the Impreza is certainly a match for any Super 2000, but it is on tarmac, that the additional engine performance will really come into its own and make the N2010 a competitive alternative to a Super 2000, but at about half the price and with significantly lower running costs," Prew concluded.

Pricing for the Impreza N2010 starts at £120,000 or about US$196,000 / €136,500 at today's exchange rates.

For the first time Prodrive also offers buyers an alternative financing option to lease the Impreza for a period of two years with the option to buy the rally-prepped car at the end of the agreement.


N2010 specification

Engine:

Flat 4-cylinder boxer:

Capacity: 1994 cc

Bore: 92.0 mm

Stroke: 75.0 mm

Turbo charger:

IHI twin scroll with new design regulation 33 mm restrictor with new roller bearing.

Electrical:

Spark plugs: BRISK

Lightweight battery: Odyssey

Controllers and displays:

Engine: Prodrive-Pectel programmable with removable data storage card.

Centre diff: Prodrive-Pectel programmable fully CAN compliant with selectable diff maps.

Driver's screen: GEMS CD25 5.5" colour VGA screen with multiple pages including engine, transmission and steering information. Increased integration of control systems and co-driver's screen.

Exhaust

Hi-flow motorsport catalyst with silencer options available in stainless or titanium.

Fuel system

FIA approved FT3-99 95 litre safety tank centrally mounted under floor.

Transmission

Gearbox: Prodrive-Hewland five-speed manual dog engagement with revised gear linkage and 2-stage shift light.

Front diff: Plated limited slip

Centre diff: Electro mechanical locking

Rear diff: Plated limited slip

Clutch

STI, 240 mm six paddle competition, single plate homologated STI cover.

Roll cage

Prodrive manufactured rollcage to FIA compliant MSA homologated.

Suspension

Revised Öhlins dampers with improved travel, strengthened rear cross-member high performance uprated suspension bushes.

Front: Prodrive-Öhlins TPX 44 MacPherson strut, three-way adjustable with front hydraulic bump stop.

Rear: Prodrive-Öhlins TTX 44 coil-over damper, three-way adjustable on multi-link rear suspension.

Steering

Power assisted quickrack (13:1) for left and right hand drive.

PAS cooler (optional)

Wheels: Speedline or Work

Tarmac: 18" x 8" or 17" x 8"

Gravel: 15" x 7"

Snow: 16" x 5.5"

Brakes: AP Racing

Tarmac: front: four-piston 355 mm rear: two-piston 285 mm

Gravel: front: four-piston 295 mm rear: two-piston 285 mm

Handbrake: WRC style vertical lever using STI/AP homologated piston.

Dimensions

Front track: 1,550 mm

Rear track: 1,540 mm

Length: 4,415 mm

Weight: 1,350 kg

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