#prodrive

In a shocking turn of events for MINI, the spunky British automaker, has announced it will cancel its World Rally Championship program at the end of the 2012 season.

MINI was proud to announce today that a John Cooper Works Super Production Car (SPC) captured its first FIA International event win this past weekend. Driver Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari took the checkered flag home at the Qatar International Rally, the first found in the 2012 Middle East Rally Championship (MERC).

The Mini rally car, which is based on the Countryman model is prepared by Prodrive in Banbury, U.K. Now Prodrive, Mini and its parent company BMW are in talks with the FIA to seek an extension to the deadline.

Now Prodrive is turning its attention to making a special version of a Countryman for those who don’t have a race seat in the FIA Rally Championship.

It’s been 40-some odd years, but Mini is finally returning to the world rally stage.

Jaguar debuted an XF sedan that utilizes a new type of hybrid system, one that recaptures energy through a mechanical flywheel rather than a battery system.

Last week we reported that MINI’s new Countryman WRC had completed its initial shakedown, and now we’ve got a trio of videos to prove it. The Prodrive-developed WRC car has been testing out in Portugal with Markko Märtin behind the wheel.

As we mentioned before, the aerodynamics seen on the MINI Countryman WRC currently won’t be the final components used as the final WRC bodywork is under construction. We’ll see limited competition out of MINI for 2011 as they’ll only be participating in select WRC rounds. But their plans is to be full on competition for 2012 and beyond.

As for our initial impressions of the MINI Countryman WRC in these videos, it looks to be a very formidable opponent and it sounds just awesome.

Check out all three videos after the break.

[Source: German Car Scene]

More importantly, however, we’ve been provided with the first glimpse at the rally version of the MINI crossover, with a massive rear spoiler, big off-road tires and a significantly lowered suspension. MINI has confirmed, however, that the aerodynamics on the car are not the ones that will be used when it makes its WRC debut.

MINI has officially announced that it will enter the World Rally Championship (WRC) next year, teaming up with Prodrive and running a Countryman crossover. The MINI Countryman WRC is being developed by the legendary Prodrive race team (which helped Subaru win six championships) to run part of the 2011 season as it prepares for a full 2012 season of competition.

The modified Countryman model will meet new FIA Super2000 regulations, using a turbocharged 1.6-liter 4-cylinder BMW Motorsport engine, mated to MINI’s new All4 all-wheel drive system.

In the future, MINI will offer the Countryman WRC model to customer teams, so expand the number of MINIs competing in rally racing internationally.

Rumors suggest several well-known drivers may compete for the official MINI team, including Mads Ostberg and Marcus Gronholm.

Official release after the jump:

Rumors that MINI will enter the World Rally Championship have been swirling for almost a year now, but that could all end later this week. According to the most recent reports, MINI will confirm its intentions to join the WRC series later this week with renowned British racing firm Prodrive set to take over operations of the team.

Subaru’s Impreza WRX and STI models are some of the best performance cars money can buy, but customers in the United Kingdom will now have an extra incentive to buy one of Subaru’s boxer-engined hatchbacks. Prodrive, a British motorsports engineering firm long associated with Subaru, is offering a free upgrade package for the WRX and STI (valued at £3100) that adds a revised ECU, upgraded mufflers and 18-inch wheels.

No new power numbers are available, but the increases are expcted to be in the 30-hp and 30 ft-lb range for each model. Subaru claims the upgrades are expected to shave 0.6 seconds from the 0-60 mph time of the WRX (bringing it down to 5.9 seconds) and 0.4 seconds from the STI’s time (helping it reach the mark in 4.8 seconds).

[Source:   World Car Fans]

Official release after the jump:

Subaru will showcase three vehicles at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas next week, including one vehicle that owners can replicate, thanks to the company’s Subaru Performance Tuning division. That car is a WRX STI, which has been completely outfitted with a long list of SPT parts straight out of the factory catalog. The car retains its turbocharged 2.5-liter engine but gets an SPT exhaust system to raise power slightly to 315-hp – up from 305-hp. Under the hood, there’s an SPT turbo heat shield and a selection of shiny bits, including a billet oil cap and battery hold down. Outside, the car also gets some extra style with a new front lip spoiler and exhaust finishers. Oh, and let’s not forget the 19×8.5-inch Prodrive GT2 wheels in Glitter Gold.

Wrapped in wear Michelin Pilot Sport rubber to help the car’s cornering abilities, the STI also gets some assistance from STI performance springs, an SPT strut tower brace and lower chassis brace.

Inside, the car is mostly stock with an added SPT boost gauge, a media hub audio system, an STI shift knob and some all-weather floor mats.

The second vehicle is definitely one that won’t be offered in the SPT catalog. It’s a VIP styled 2010 Legacy 2.5GT. Sure you can get the SPT oil cap and battery tie-down, but the air ride suspension and 20-inch wheels (with a 4-inch lip) are most certainly one-off items. To fit these wheels on the car’s body, the fenders had to be flared. Other body mods include a long list of JDM Legacy parts (overnight parts from Japan anyone?) like a hood, bumper, grille as well as HID headlights and fog lights. The car also gets a roof spoiler as well as a rear decklid spoiler. In order to fit the smooth JDM hood, the Legacy’s top-mount intercooler was replaced with a Mishimoto front mount intercooler.

And if the exterior seems extreme, just take a look at the interior, which gets a complete diamond-stitch leather treatment. The rear seat area was changed significantly with two bucket seats, two LCD screens and a huge audio setup.

A third vehicle will also join these two Subys. It’s a Subaru SPT Parts Delivery Van, that’s based off a fully restored 1969 Subaru 360. This is no performance machine with a 356cc engine that makes 25-hp and 25 ft-lbs of torque. But hey, it does get 66 mpg.

We’ll be sure to bring you more on all of Suabru’s SEMA show vehicles with live coverage from Las Vegas starting next Tuesday, November 3rd.

See AutoGuide’s live SEMA Coverage here!

Official release after the jump:

Prodrive, the company behind Subaru’s successful World Rally Car program, has just announced that it is selling off many of its decommissioned race cars, including the very first Impreza WRC car.

Not two weeks after the final race of the 2008 season, Subaru has made the surprise move to withdraw from the 2009 World Rally Championship. The move follows a similar announcement the day before by Suzuki.

For the past 20 years the Subaru WRC team, under the direction of Prodrive, has won six WRC Championship titles with drivers like the late, great Colin McRae. Arguably Subaru’s continued existence as a manufacturer in the international marketplace has relied heavily on its reputation for success in racing.

Citing the worldwide economic downturn, Subaru was quick to blame a tight pocketbook and not the fact that the company hasn’t won a race since 2006. At the end of the 2008 season the Subaru team finished 3rd overall with drivers Chris Atkinson and Petter Solberg grabbing the fifth and sixth positions, respectively.

If no other teams join before the 2009 season starts, only Ford and Citroen will be left battling it out in the top class.

Team operator Prodrive will apparently begin preparing to enter a private team in 2010.

Official Release, plus 2008 Subaru WRC Gallery after the jump: