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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.
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As part of its involvement in Europe’s biggest AIDS charity event, MINI was able to enlist three absolute style icons for the design of its hotly coveted Life Ball MINIs: Diane von Furstenberg, Kenneth Cole and Calvin Klein Collection’s award-winning Women’s Creative Director Francisco Costa are all doing their bit for this good cause. MINI provided each creative designer with their favourite model, on which they are bestowing their own individual stamp. These collector’s items will be auctioned at the amfAR Gala in Vienna on 17 July on behalf of the charitable cause, with proceeds going to amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research.

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When the 2011 Countryman goes on sale later this year, it will be the largest offering from Mini, boasting four doors, raised ground clearance and all-wheel drive. And while the Countryman proves that Mini isn’t so, well, mini anymore, Auto Express is stirring the rumormill by reporting that the automaker is working on an even larger version of the Countryman, complete with a longer wheelbase that will accommodate a third row of seats out back.

Is there room for a seven-seat Mini crossover in the brand’s portfolio? We doubt it – especially since we have yet to see how strong of a seller the standard Countryman is. Parent company BMW already has the pint-sized X1 on deck, and if we’re honest, a seven-seat Countryman just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. (We don’t even want to think about how cramped that third row of seats would be.)

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A horrific crash involving a MINI Cooper S racer took place this past weekend at the Ipswich Raceway in Brisbane, Australia, when debutant racer Kain Magro, 23, literally cart-wheeled out of control over a barrier and into a crowd of spectators during a racing event that preceded the Ipswich 300 V8 Supercars race.
Miraculously, the driver was unhurt while only two people from the crowd were treated for minor injuries. Check out the video after the break.

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According to our source, BMW Group is planning a five-door version of the Mini Cooper for the United States. The source said that BMW recently held a consumer study group around the United States where they showed visitors a prototype of what a future 5-door Mini Cooper would look like.

We’re not sure if Mini plans on using the standard chassis for the new 5-door Mini or plans on sharing components with the new Mini Countryman crossover. However, like the Mini Countryman, the 5-door Mini hatch is expected to remain a four-seater.
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