“With these two cars we have the most powerful MINI family that ever raced at the Dakar Rally.”Sebastian Mackensen, Senior Vice President, MINI
The 40th edition of the world’s most demanding long-distance rally, which covers more than 8,000 kms over 14 stages through Peru, Bolivia and Argentina, begins on January 6, 2018 in Lima, Peru. MINI and X-raid are hoping to continue their success which has brought them four consecutive overall victories from 2012 to 2015.
“With these two cars we have the most powerful MINI family that ever raced at the Dakar Rally”, said Sebastian Mackensen, Senior Vice President of MINI. “This has been the biggest project in our company’s history so far and we have worked extremely hard at it.”
The MINI John Cooper Works Rally and the MINI John Cooper Works Buggy both use a 3.0 litre inline 6-cylinder diesel engine which generates 340 hp and an impressive 590 lb-ft of torque. The transmission and drivetrain as well as the engine’s turbocharging technology, which is based on the BMW TwinPower Turbo, have been completely reworked for the 2018 rally.
“During this time the buggy never had to stop once due to a technical problem, which is really quite remarkable,” said team manager Sven Quandt. “Despite all the euphoria, we must definitely not forget the MINI John Cooper Works Rally. There are tracks and types of terrain where an all-wheel drive has advantages. What is more, our car is extremely reliable.”
The MINI and X-raid range for the Dakar Rally 2018 will comprise seven cars and an experienced team of drivers and co-pilots. The three MINI John Cooper Works Buggies will be piloted by Mikko Hirvonen (FIN), Bryce Menzies (USA) and Yazeed Al-Rajhi (KSA). The driver seats in the MINI John Cooper Works Rally will be occupied by Orlando Terranova (ARG), Jakub Przygonski (POL), Joan “Nani” Roma (ESP) and Boris Garafulic (CHI).
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