The road taken by Mini to the World Rally Championship has been anything but smooth. After contesting a handful of rallies last season, Mini and Prodrive (the outfit running the team on the manufacturer’s behalf) was set to contest the full calendar this year. But then the team failed to register in time, and dumped the promising driver it had plucked from the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, and things did not look good. Funk Flex
Auto Talk: Prodrive working on WRC-inspired Mini Countryman
Autocar reports that Mini may be working on a more sinister version of Countryman. The hotter crossover would receive the once-over by the rally kings at Prodrive using lessons learned from the Mini WRC effort. Dave Richards, the head honcho at Prodrive, has made it clear that road-going versions of the Countryman WRC are a possibility, and Autocar was able to snag a few photos an aggressive Countryman wearing a fixed carbon fiber wing and custom alloy wheels. Funk Flex
