MINI Countryman Untamed at the Rebelle Rally: The Journey in Photos

DimON · October 22

The MINI Countryman Untamed Edition had been public for two days when it rolled off the line at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and it finished its first Rebelle Rally in a Glamis whiteout, third in X-Cross, with Rookies of the Year honours and the Challenge Accepted Award, the one voted on by fellow competitors and event staff. The standings record the result. The photographs show what it took to get there.

Day 1: Nevada into Utah

The Rebelle opened with the longest first day in its history, a 377 kilometer loop from Base Camp 1 near Pioche into western Utah and back, only the second time the course has entered a third state. MINI’s Team #206 ended it third in X-Cross on 149 points, behind two Subarus.

It was not a day for the faint-hearted rookie. Killman and Ferrer Lozano were handling a brand-new car, a new navigation format and a partner they had met in person only weeks earlier, at Rebelle U in Ridgecrest. By their own account, the best moment of that training was high-centring on the tallest dune in sight.

Days 2 and 3: the marathon

The first marathon took teams 360 kilometres north from Caliente to Eureka, the farthest north the rally has ever gone. Day 3 began as an all-day visual roadbook, then the weather arrived and teams headed to base camp early with five checkpoints scored.

Day 4: storms and water crossings

Day 4 was presented by MINI, which made the weather feel like a test with the brand’s name on it. Teams left Base Camp 1 on the second marathon, running Rainbow Canyon, passing Valley of Fire and Lake Mead before entering the Mojave towards Route 66 and the camp at Roy’s. Storms and water crossings reshuffled the 4×4 top five. The MINI regained third in X-Cross on 463 points. Our mid-rally report covered that stage as it happened.

Days 5 and 6: Johnson Valley

Johnson Valley brought rocky trails, sand washes and dry lake beds. Day 6 opened with a curveball start that sent every team out at once for a full day of rough, rocky terrain. For a car whose pitch is capability, this was the stretch that mattered most.

Days 7 and 8: dunes and a whiteout

Day 7 took teams around the Salton Sea and into the Imperial Sand Dunes. Before it, Killman said she believed the Countryman’s low centre of gravity would help in the sand, adding, “she was made for it.”

Day 8 stayed in Glamis, in wind gusting to 50 mph. Blowing sand turned the morning into a whiteout, with visibility cut so sharply that some teams let early checkpoints go. The four X-Cross teams ran the dunes as a pod, taking turns to lead and sharing headings. The MINI finished the rally on 1,149 points, third in the class behind the Subaru of Carey Lando and Andrea Shaffer and the Subaru of Kendra Miller and Tasha Krug.

Three awards, one team

The MINI crew left Glamis with three honours: third place in X-Cross, Rookies of the Year in the class, and the Challenge Accepted Award presented by Stryten Energy, which is voted on by fellow competitors and event staff. That last one may say the most. It rewards attitude and how a team treats the people around it, and the field chose to give it to the crew in the grey Countryman.

MINI USA’s Sean Green, vice president of MINI of the Americas, credited the crew’s determination and the car’s capability. Ferrer Lozano said the team’s mission was to show what MINI can do, and that other competitors told her watching the Countryman clear obstacles inspired them to attempt their own. Killman described the same effect from the driver’s seat.

What the Rebelle says about the MINI Countryman Untamed

Start with what it does show. The Untamed Edition is a production crossover that can spend eight days on rock, sand washes, water crossings and dunes, in storms and 50 mph gusts, and still finish in a competitive class. Killman bet before the final stage that the Countryman’s low centre of gravity would suit the sand, and the car completed the dunes with its crew intact. That is a meaningful result for a model whose lift is modest, 15 mm for up to 19 mm of extra ground clearance, and whose real upgrades are the all-terrain tyres, recalibrated stability and steering, ALL4 and underbody protection.

The wheel and tyre swap is the most revealing detail. The rally car dropped to a smaller 18-inch accessory wheel with a more aggressive tyre because rough terrain demands a taller sidewall. That suggests the showroom 19-inch wheel is a compromise aimed at the road as much as the trail. Read that as analysis, not a flaw: it is exactly how an owner who wants to go further would configure the car. It also means the Untamed arrives as a capable platform with room to grow, not a finished rock crawler.

What the result cannot show is how the car compares with purpose-built rivals, because the Rebelle rewards navigation, not pace. The winning Subaru was modified, the MINI crew were rookies, and third of four is a place on the podium, not proof of superiority.

The honest conclusion is a measured one. The MINI Countryman Untamed is a credible adventure crossover, not a gimmick, and the rally was a fair test of that claim. Production is due to start in November, and the next test belongs to buyers: whether the lift, the tyres and the electronics earn their premium on ordinary dirt roads. Our launch report has the specification, and the 12th Rebelle runs October 6 to 16, 2027, if MINI wants a second attempt with a seasoned crew.