MINI made an impressive debut at the Rebelle Rally, landing on the podium in its first attempt at the demanding off-road competition. The #NotSoMINIRebelles team, driver Felicia Killman and navigator Erika Ferrer, took third in the X-Cross class with the new Countryman Untamed Edition, adding two more awards to an already excellent debut.
The result gives MINI a strong start in one of America’s toughest off-road navigation events. Rather than chasing outright speed, competitors must find checkpoints across challenging terrain using traditional navigation tools. GPS is prohibited, leaving teams to rely on maps, a compass, a roadbook, and plenty of teamwork.
This year’s rally covered more than 1,600 miles across Nevada, California, and Utah over eight days. The route threw everything at competitors, including scorching temperatures, heavy rain, flooding, river crossings, steep climbs, sand dunes, and a sandstorm with wind gusts reaching 50 mph.
Three Awards For MINI’s Rebelle Rally Debut
The third-place finish was only part of the story. Killman and Ferrer also took home the X-Cross Rookie of the Year award and the “Challenge Accepted†Award, presented by Stryten Energy. Fellow competitors and event staff voted for the latter, which recognizes teams that embrace difficult situations with a positive attitude and inspire others along the way.
The pair competed as Team #206, known as the #NotSoMINIRebelles. They scored 1,149 points, finishing behind the winning Subaru Forester Hybrid and the second-place Crosstrek. For a first-time effort, it was a solid result in a competition where careful navigation and smart decisions matter more than horsepower or acceleration figures.
MINI chose the newly revealed Countryman Untamed Edition for its inaugural campaign. Unveiled just days before the rally began, the adventure-focused crossover was built to handle more than the occasional gravel road to a campsite.
The special edition features a 15-millimeter suspension lift that increases ground clearance by up to 19 mm (0.7 inches), plus all-terrain tires, revised ABS and stability control calibrations, and standard all-wheel drive. MINI also added underbody protection, matte-black protective film, Dark Steel accents, and distinctive 19-inch wheels inspired by traditional off-road steelies.
That hardware faced a particularly tough examination. The rally included more than 200 checkpoints across three states. Competitors had to navigate using 21 maps, a compass, and a roadbook without GPS. Extreme weather added another layer of difficulty, with a hurricane, flash flooding, mud, and blowing sand making the already demanding course even harder.
MINI Builds On A Long Rally Tradition
MINI’s latest achievement adds another chapter to a motorsport history that stretches back decades. Long before the BMW era, the original Mini Cooper S famously won the Monte Carlo Rally in 1964, 1965, and 1967, proving that a small car could punch well above its weight against more powerful rivals.
More recently, MINI has made a name for itself in demanding off-road competition, including the Dakar Rally, where its entries have claimed six overall victories. The Rebelle Rally presents a different kind of challenge, emphasizing navigation and teamwork rather than outright speed, but the underlying philosophy remains familiar: make the most of the vehicle’s capabilities.
BMW Group also has an established relationship with the event. It first entered a Rolls-Royce Cullinan in 2019, followed by the BMW X2 in 2023, X3 in 2024, and X5 in 2025. Last year’s X5 finished second in the X-Cross class and won the Bone Stock Award, making MINI’s podium finish the group’s latest success
First published by https://www.bmwblog.com
