X-raid is opening a new chapter in its more than twenty-year history: the MINI JCW Rally 3.0i is the first petrol-powered car developed and built by X-raid. The new family member will make its debut at the Rallye du Maroc.
The diesel engine has been part of the X-raid DNA since the very first second. With it, X-raid secured numerous titles and a total of six victories at the Dakar Rally. Now, X-raid is taking on the challenge of the ‘petrol engine’ in order to be even better positioned for the future.
The new petrol-powered RS24 engine marks the beginning of a new chapter in the history of X-raid. A project like this can only be successful if the entire team and all partners work together. After the planning and initial tests on the test stand, the MINI JCW Rally 3.0i with the new petrol engine completed its roll-out at the beginning of June this year. A real test marathon followed.
In the past few months, the MINI JCW Rally 3.0i has covered thousands of test kilometres. The test programme in Europe took the MINI JCW Rally 3.0i to Germany, France, Poland and Spain. X-raid also exposed the MINI JCW Rally 3.0i to heat, sand and dunes during test drives in Morocco. But that’s not all: during a special test on a military training area near Trier, it had to prove itself in a water crossing. Thus, X-raid has already exposed the MINI JCW Rally 3.0i to extreme elements, except fire. The new family member has to pass its baptism of fire at the Rallye du Maroc.
Sven Quandt, X-raid Team Principal
“For many years, we have successfully fielded the X-raid MINI JCW Rally with a diesel engine, which has been powered by the environmentally friendly HVO fuel for the past two years. Since the team was founded in 2002, we have been very successful with BMW diesel engines and have won the Dakar Rally six times and many championships with this concept. With the high-performance turbo petrol engine that our development team has spent the last nine months working on with Alpina, we are taking a big step and breaking completely new ground. With immediate effect, our customers can choose between the two engine variants. Our proven and highly reliable diesel engine will continue to be offered alongside the petrol engine. The Rallye du Maroc will be the first test under competitive conditions for the MINI JCW Rally 3.0i. After that, we will know where we stand.’
Technical data for the RS24
6-cylinder in-line engine
