81st International Geneva Motor Show (CH) provided the stage for MINI to unveil the MINI John Cooper Works S2000 – the latest milestone on the road to the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). This is the forerunner to the MINI John Cooper Works WRC, which the MINI WRC Team will entrust to drivers Dani Sordo (ES) and Kris Meeke (GB) for its debut in the premier category of rallying in Rally Italy from 5 – 8 May 2011. Further entries are planned in the WRC events in Finland, Germany, France, Spain and Great Britain. Private teams will line up with the Super2000 version of the car at the end of March in Rally Portugal.
The powerful heartbeat of both cars will be generated by the turbocharged 1.6-litre engine used in standard MINI production cars, but optimized by BMW Motorsport for use in numerous race series. Indeed, this engine also powers the BMW 320 TC run by privately-entered teams in the FIA World Touring Car Championship.
The diameter of the air intake restrictor is also identical, although Prodrive also offers a variant with a smaller restrictor for championships where WRC cars are not permitted. Customer teams can order both the MINI John Cooper Works WRC and the Super2000-specification car from Prodrive as part of an extensive service package.
Read Article