I hate that they call this a MINI..........it's not even close. Unless you consider a heavily modified X3 as close.
Dakar is also a series or tour now, of which The Dakar or Dakar Rally held in January is just one event. While we're being specific, the Dakar Rally itself has nothing to do with Dakar anymore either since they moved that rally to Chile and Argentina (and Peru?).
Scott, it clearly sits higher, but that is what that type racing calls for and the body looks like a MINI. Other then the "body" is the WRC car a MINI? Jim
The WRC car started life as a production MINI Countryguy body in white. The Dakar X3/MINI if you prefer is built to a very different set of rules. A BMW wearing MINI clothes. Most folks won't care. A few will. Some will say it is a MINI some will say it is not. Is this a great country or what?
Still gets the MINI name out there and that is what is important. We will just have to agree to disagree on this one. :cornut: Jim
Yep......The WRC car is a factory Countryman with a mandated engine and suspension. This Dakar car is in fact a heavily modified BMW X3 with a body that looks like the Countryman. IMHO, this is no different than a monster truck being called an F150. Only thing shared is the body style.
Yeah, should of been The Dakar or simply Dakar... Dakar 2012 To be strictly correct the series is Dakar Series.
I think the WRC car can be considered as 'mostly' Mini, but the rules are rather flexible - which is how come its competitors, the Ford Fiesta and Citroen DS3, do not have 4WD production versions, although all WRC are 4WD. From the depths of my memory (a dark and murky place) I seem to recall that the rules say the suspension must be 'the same type' as the production car - they know that the suspension units and the body pick-up points will be changed for rallying, so once you allow that, the suspension isn't even related to the stock components except in name. I've seen a picture of a WRC suspension being changed with a complete front subframe (except the strut tops mounts) - but none of the production cars have that. The transmission on the Countryman is an Xtrac sequential gearbox and custom 4WD system and not the system fitted to the All4 models. But it must be handy for Prodrive that Mini designed the car with a hole where they want to put the main propshaft!