Mini may have shut down its WRC team almost as soon as it started up, but that doesn't mean it's not still interested in off-road racing. Minis can still be found on the Dakar rally, in the Andros Trophy ice racing championship in France and now at Pikes Peak. The custom Countryman is being fielded by a Mini dealership in Toulouse, France, and will be driven by Jean-Philippe Dayraut, a French driver who won the Andros Trophy three times. Last year Dayraut raced Pikes Peak in a Dacia Duster and a Mini in the Andros Trophy.

This year he's combining the two with the entry you see here. But the similarity to the Countryman is only skin deep. In reality it's the same chassis as last year's Dacia from last year, but now it's 176 lbs lighter and packs 900 hp. That should give Sebastien Loeb and Monster Tajima a run for their money.