MINI is taking part in the Rebelle Rally for the first time, and it is using the event to put its new Countryman Untamed Edition through a tough real world test. The rally started at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 8 at 7am Pacific time, MINI announced.
The Rebelle Rally is an off-road competition for women. Teams cover approximately 1,500 miles of rough terrain across Nevada, California and Utah, and GPS navigation is not allowed. Crews find their way with maps, a compass and a road book.
The team
Felicia Killman drives the MINI. She competes in the American Rally Association, has both driven and navigated rally cars, and has raced a specially prepared MINI in stage rallies.
Erika Ferrer is the navigator. She works in BMW Group Corporate Communications in Mexico, began her motorsport career managing rally teams and went on to win three consecutive regional rally co-driver championships in Mexico. She has also co-driven for rally champion Benito Guerra in La Carrera Panamericana.
“The Rebelle Rally is as much a test of judgment and teamwork as it is of the vehicle,” Ferrer said.
The car
The Countryman Untamed Edition is MINI’s new adventure focused version of its largest model. For the rally, a BMW Group engineering team prepared the car to run far from paved roads and normal support. Partners including Thule, Pelican Cases, Morimoto Lighting, Peak Design and GoPro supplied equipment.
MINI ties the entry to its rally history. The original Mini Cooper S won the Monte Carlo Rally outright in 1964, 1965 and 1967, and MINI has more recently found success in the Dakar Rally.
What it means for you
A rally entry does not tell you how a car will feel on your daily commute, but it is a useful early look at a model that is not on sale yet. The Untamed Edition is built for gravel roads, trails and weekend trips, and this event will show how it copes with sand, rocks and long days away from help.
If you are curious, you can follow the team through live tracking and daily updates at rebellerally.com/live and on the rally’s social channels. MINI has not announced Canadian pricing for the Untamed Edition in this release.
