Prodrive Mini WRC - testing

jack_christie

jack_christie

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Prodrive have been testing the new Mini WRC at Ponte de Lima in Portugal.

Markko Martin, Ott T?nak, Kris Meeke and Marcus Gronholm have tested the car.

The car is just a test mule and hasn't got the proper front splitter or rear wing.

Prodrive Mini sales brochure
http://www.motoringfile.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Mini-rally-car-sales-package.pdf






First shakedown at Prodrive?s private proving ground in Warwickshire.
http://img710.imageshack.**/img710/1849/60136153479281348720110.jpg

_DH32716_2.jpg
 
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Must be a bloody awful thread. 1300+ views, no comments!!!

 
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A lot of it is covered in the WRC thread. I'd love to see Gronholm rejoin as a full time driver.
 
argatoga said:
A lot of it is covered in the WRC thread. I'd love to see Gronholm rejoin as a full time driver.
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Thought that was a bit quite, so broke it out here just see if it makes any difference.

Doubt Gronholm will return full time, but more likely to do a part-time program.
 
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That's awesome. I got to see the consumer Countryman in early August during the Mini Takes the States event, and it was quite nice looking, I'm glad to see it rallying.

Is this supposed to be joining the next season of WRC?
 
Prodrive plan to begin their WRC campaign in Sardinia next year, missing the first four or so rounds.

These are still only the first proper set of tests, so its nowhere near its potential yet. However Gronholm was going a bit faster:
 
Hopefully they can really stir the top 5 a bit.
It's so stagnant there currently with only Ford and Citroen with their factory cars. :(
 
tissot said:
Hopefully they can really stir the top 5 a bit.
It's so stagnant there currently with only Ford and Citroen with their factory cars. :(
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I'm really hoping it opens the door to more teams returning, such as Subaru. As cool as the Ford and Citroen cars are, there really needs to be more diversity.
 
Include Mitsubishi as well. The Lancer Evolution vs Impreza WRX rivalry was good.
 
SpitfireMK461 said:
I'm really hoping it opens the door to more teams returning, such as Subaru. As cool as the Ford and Citroen cars are, there really needs to be more diversity.
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Prodrive ran Subaru's rally team. They would need to start at square one.
 
I don't know that much about the WRC so I'm just going to say that this Mini looks awful.
 
tissot said:
Hopefully they can really stir the top 5 a bit.
It's so stagnant there currently with only Ford and Citroen with their factory cars. :(
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It is sad. Though it is good to see there are manufacturers that will stick to the sport. Ford has been consistently racing rally cars for decades. Funny how over here Subaru, Mitsubishi, and Audi are thought of first when rally cars are mentioned yet Ford who has been racing rally cars for more years than all of those combined is not.
 
ALXBWSCREW said:
I don't know that much about the WRC so I'm just going to say that this Mini looks awful.
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It's only a prototype: heavily cammoed and not yet in fully rally trim - eg: some extra bodywork. Once it is I think It will look quite mean, but never pretty that's for sure. I mean, it's based on one ugly road car! They're also obviously not running it with a turbo (not that I can hear anyway - no induction noise) it just sounds like an S2000 car atm, but a really really angry one. :lol:
 
Zesty said:
I mean, it's based on one ugly road car! They're also obviously not running it with a turbo (not that I can hear anyway - no induction noise) it just sounds like an S2000 car atm, but a really really angry one. :lol:
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Its got a Mini/BMW 1.6l turbo (a version of the Global Racing Engine concept) and its still at the very early stages of development.

If you listen closely on the last video, the day 4 one with Gronholm, at the start an end of the video when the car is going slowly, you can here a sort of turbo 'whistle' noise.
 
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