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MINI has been handing out Christmas presents…and they don’t come any better than this.  MINI USA asked their customers to describe in six words the best test drive they could imagine. Then they picked a winner and made the advert! Matthew Foster chose the words STEWARDESS, SALT FLATS, PARATROOPERS, SUSHI and FALCONER. Sit back and enjoy Matthew taking the kind of test drive only MINI can deliver!

Enjoy this video on YouTube.

The MINI WRC Team’s drivers were fighting to the very end of Wales Rally GB to give the team a great result on the last event of its first year in the WRC. Kris Meeke finished the fourth, while Dani Sordo set the second fastest time in the final test of the day.  Meeke left Cardiff in the early hours of the morning 45 seconds behind the third placed Ford of Henning Solberg. From the first stage of the day Meeke was determined to do everything he could to snatch a podium on his home event, and by the start of the final stage of the day the gap was down to 1.8 seconds. Unfortunately he hit a rut and had a half spin and this was enough to put paid to his challenge.

Looking back on the season, team Technical Director Dave Wilcox was rightly very positive. “I think we cannot be anything but satisfied with the way it has gone. We have put MINI on the WRC map. The Rally GB has been a particularly tough rally for the end of a season. It had long road sections for the drivers and also we had a mixture of weather conditions, including torrential rain on Friday. Also on gravel when the cars go over the stages twice on the second pass some big ruts can appear. As for the year in total, we are very pleased with the progress we have made. The MINI John Cooper Works WRC proved quick on tarmac and now on gravel we have some important information which will go towards improving its performance in these conditions. Dani and Kris are very different in terms of experience and where they have rallied in the past, and they have made the perfect team for us. They are both very hard workers. Where do we go from here? It will be a busy winter for us but I have to say on reflection I don’t think we need to change much. We are a young, new team with a new car and we are more than satisfied with the position we are in right now. There is a very exciting future ahead of us.”

MotoringFile have more MINI WRC coverage here.
Keep up-to-date with the official MINI Motorsport website is here.
Follow MINI’s progress in WRC on the official page here.
You can find full details of the MINI WRC car here.

The MINI Paceman is coming and it’s going to hit dealer lots late next year. Production is intended to start in November 2012 and run though late 2018. However what’s interesting is that MINI is planning on launching an All4 version to go along with the standard model mix. In addition to this we also expect MINI to release a full factory JCW Paceman with the revamped variable valve timed N18 JCW engine with up to 220bhp. Then there are the rumors of a MINI hybrid which we believe will manifest itself in the Countryman and Paceman models sometime after 2012.

The Paceman’s styling will also be revamped from last year’s concept vehicle. However the rumors revised headlights strike us as odd given the costs that go into the tooling of such a change (especially considering the cost of borrowing the Countryman’s is zero). However the rumor is that the Paceman will lose the Countryman derived headlights and in their place headlights that are pushed further in-ward similar to the Rocketman concept that previews the 3rd generation MINI. Perhaps the biggest change to the concept will be the addition of two rear-hinged club-doors that make the R61 a true five door similar to the Countryman. Inside space will be almost identical to the Countryman with the exception of the rear cargo area height. Finally look for a name change to the Paceman in time for it’s official unvieling and a loosely disguised concept in Detroit.

MotoringFile have more on this story here.