Photo: BMW Group
The best kind of vehicle for off-road racing is one that uses a four-wheel-drive system, everyone knows that. Except that might not always be the case, and the French from Peugeot proved it repeatedly by winning the last two Dakar Rallies with their 3008 DKR two-wheel-drive custom build.
MINI, once the undisputed ruler in this competition, had to settle for a low (by its standards) sixth place after the French company took all three podium positions, and two Toyota teams came in fourth and fifth. Next year, though, the BMW-owned British brand seems determined to put up a better fight by fielding out an experimental 2WD buggy.
Companies use this kind of competitions to bolster the credits of some of the technologies used for their road-going vehicles. With MINI starting to branch out into crossover territory, a four-wheel-drive Dakar competition car made a lot of sense, and it proved to be successful.
However, all is pointless unless you're actually winning, which is why MINI is now taking a step back and reevaluating its strategy. For the next Dakar Rally, it will use two types of vehicles, one of which will instantly appear familiar while the other is a complete newcomer.
The John Cooper Works Rally is your standard take on a MINI Paceman beefed up for desert racing. It looks as if the body was bolted on a completely redesigned chassis, which is most likely exactly what happened. It'll use four-wheel-drive just like before and act as the known quantity in this experiment.
The bet the team is making is called John Cooper Works Buggy, and it's a two-wheel-drive desert-roaming machine that bears no resemblance to any MINI model you've seen so far. That being said, it not only looks gorgeous, but also like it could go through sand and skip over rocks for days on end.
Which is what it'll have to do if it wants to get MINI back to its winning ways. The Buggy is powered by a 3.0-liter inline-six turbodiesel engine with 340 hp and a mountain of torque: 590 lb-ft (800 Nm). The transmission will convey that power to the rear wheels through a specifically designed driveline.
Nobody really knows what to expect from the John Cooper Works Buggy, which is what makes it so dangerous for all the other teams. It might prove a flop, but at the same time, it might cruise to a victory. And depending on which of the two happens, we might see it on 2019 as well or not.
Until then, keep an eye out for the newcomer this January when the next Dakar Rally kicks off. The first stage takes place less than a week after the start of the year, on January 6, while the champagne will be popped two weeks later, on January 20.
Companies use this kind of competitions to bolster the credits of some of the technologies used for their road-going vehicles. With MINI starting to branch out into crossover territory, a four-wheel-drive Dakar competition car made a lot of sense, and it proved to be successful.
However, all is pointless unless you're actually winning, which is why MINI is now taking a step back and reevaluating its strategy. For the next Dakar Rally, it will use two types of vehicles, one of which will instantly appear familiar while the other is a complete newcomer.
The John Cooper Works Rally is your standard take on a MINI Paceman beefed up for desert racing. It looks as if the body was bolted on a completely redesigned chassis, which is most likely exactly what happened. It'll use four-wheel-drive just like before and act as the known quantity in this experiment.
The bet the team is making is called John Cooper Works Buggy, and it's a two-wheel-drive desert-roaming machine that bears no resemblance to any MINI model you've seen so far. That being said, it not only looks gorgeous, but also like it could go through sand and skip over rocks for days on end.
Which is what it'll have to do if it wants to get MINI back to its winning ways. The Buggy is powered by a 3.0-liter inline-six turbodiesel engine with 340 hp and a mountain of torque: 590 lb-ft (800 Nm). The transmission will convey that power to the rear wheels through a specifically designed driveline.
Nobody really knows what to expect from the John Cooper Works Buggy, which is what makes it so dangerous for all the other teams. It might prove a flop, but at the same time, it might cruise to a victory. And depending on which of the two happens, we might see it on 2019 as well or not.
Until then, keep an eye out for the newcomer this January when the next Dakar Rally kicks off. The first stage takes place less than a week after the start of the year, on January 6, while the champagne will be popped two weeks later, on January 20.
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