Skip advert
Advertisement

Mini John Cooper Works Dakar rally competitors launched

The Mini John Cooper Works buggy and rally car will attack the Dakar with 335bhp 3.0-litre engines.

Mini has revealed a buggy and rally car to contest the Dakar Rally that starts in Lima, Peru on January 6 2018. The duo, built in conjunction with long-time partner X-raid, differ in their approaches to attacking the two-week long event. The Mini John Cooper Works Buggy is underpinned by a rear-wheel drive platform, while the Mini John Cooper Works rally car runs all-wheel drive.

Advertisement - Article continues below

Those familiar with the Dakar Rally will recognise the Mini John Cooper Works Rally, which entered the event last year finishing in sixth place. However, the concept has been revised ahead of this year’s South American-based rally, where it’ll be joined by the buggy - which is making its debut.

Both vehicles employ 3-litre twin-turbo straight-six diesel engines based on the B57 architecture used in BMWs including the BMW 5-series and 7-series. This specific application offers 335bhp and a substantial 590lb ft of torque.

> Click here for our Mini Cooper S review

The buggy’s exterior bodywork, a combination of CFRP and Kevlar, was the result of a collaborative design effort between X-raid and Mini Design. It covers a bespoke, tubular steel frame engineered to withstand over 5000 miles worth of brutal racing and, crucially, to offer maximum protection for the drivers and co-pilots.

While four-wheel drive seems the logical choice to tackle the tough terrain, Mini opted to field the rear-wheel drive Buggy to take advantage of the regulations governing drivetrain configurations. In short, the rules have been written to bring performance parity between two-wheel drive and all-wheel drive cars. Talking about the Buggy, X-raid Team Manager Sven Quandt said, ‘this has been the biggest project in our company’s history so far and we have worked extremely hard at it’.

Despite the John Cooper Works Rally being the older of two cars, it has not been ignored going into this year’s event: the chassis construction has been revised permitting greater suspension travel and weight is down too. Referring to the Rally, Team Manager Sven Quandt said, ‘There are tracks and types of terrain where an all-wheel drive has advantages. What is more, our car is extremely reliable’.

Seven Mini, X-raid cars will enter the Dakar, three Buggys and four Rallys driven by pairings hailing from Europe, South America, USA and the Arab Springs.

Skip advert
Advertisement

Recommended

Mini JCW 2025 review – too feisty for its own good
Mini JCW – front
Reviews

Mini JCW 2025 review – too feisty for its own good

The petrol-powered JCW lives on – for now. But in its latest incarnation, has this supermini survivor become too hardcore?
6 Jul 2025
Mini JCW Electric 2025 review – the Alpine A290 has nothing to worry about
Mini JCW Electric – front
Reviews

Mini JCW Electric 2025 review – the Alpine A290 has nothing to worry about

Mini has given its new-generation electric hatch the JCW treatment, with Alpine’s A290 in its sights. The results are… mixed
4 Jun 2025
2025 Mini John Cooper Works gets design tweaks but no more power
2025 Mini JCW
News

2025 Mini John Cooper Works gets design tweaks but no more power

Following the launch of the JCW Electric, Mini has revealed its updated petrol-powered John Cooper Works 
22 Oct 2024
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

VW Golf GTI Clubsport for £6k off – Akrapovic exhaust effectively thrown in free
Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport deal
News

VW Golf GTI Clubsport for £6k off – Akrapovic exhaust effectively thrown in free

The Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport in Mk8.5 guise makes for a tempting prospect at the right price
3 Jul 2025
New Alpine A290 Rallye is an electric car we actually want, but there's a catch
Alpine A290 Rallye
News

New Alpine A290 Rallye is an electric car we actually want, but there's a catch

The A290 has proven to be one of the best performance EVs yet, and now Alpine's taking it one step further with a rally variant
3 Jul 2025
Best used sports cars – proper performance cars for less than a new Golf GTI
Cheap sports cars
Best cars

Best used sports cars – proper performance cars for less than a new Golf GTI

With the sun shining and fuel prices palatable, now is the time to indulge your used sports car desires
1 Jul 2025