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MINI is heading off the beaten track for the very first time. The British marque has entered the 2026 Rebelle Rally, the longest competitive off-road navigation event in the United States, and it will do so with a rugged new MINI model variant built for life beyond the tarmac. The entry opens a fresh chapter in a motorsport story that stretches back decades, and it drops the brand straight into one of the toughest all-women contests on the planet.
The Rebelle Rally is no gentle jaunt. Run across the deserts of Nevada and California, and for the first time Utah, it spans 1,500 miles of punishing terrain. Crews navigate using only maps, a compass, a road book and sharp teamwork, with no satellite guidance to lean on. For MINI, it is the ideal crucible in which to prove the grit, stamina and go-anywhere character of its newest machine.
That new variant wears a bolder, more adventurous face than the MINIs most drivers know. It has been shaped for those who want to press on where the pavement runs out and follow the trail wherever it leads. MINI is keeping the finer technical details under wraps for now, with a full global reveal promised this autumn to coincide with the car’s world premiere.
Two women will carry MINI’s colours across the dunes. Felicia Killman, a committed rally competitor from Lacey, Washington, takes the wheel, and she already campaigns a specially prepared MINI in American Rally Association stage events. Alongside her sits Erika Ferrer, a member of the BMW Group team in Mexico and a seasoned co-driver with three consecutive regional championships to her name.
The campaign draws on a deep well of heritage. The original Mini Cooper S stunned the establishment with outright wins at the Monte Carlo Rally in 1964, 1965 and 1967, using compact dimensions and agile handling to see off far more powerful rivals. Later, MINI conquered the brutal Dakar. Now the badge returns to the dirt, blending that storied past with a bold new direction.
