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Guerlain Chicherit going for world record for longest car jump

Does the name Guerlain Chicherit ring any bells? It definitely should if you're into competitive skiing, as he was crowned world champion in off-trail freeriding four times. But he's also a rally driver, winning the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup in 2009 and even a stage of the Dakar Rally the following year. What really set him apart, though, was when he back-flipped a Mini Countryman rally car to set a world record last year. And now he's after another.
This time he's going after the world record for the longest ramp jump in a car. The record currently belongs to Tanner Foust at 332 feet, but Chicherit plans to break it by a good thirty more with a targeted distance of 360 feet.
He'll be using the Mini once again, sponsored by Monster Energy and Toyo Tires, and specially modified for the endeavor which he plans to undertake this Sunday under the auspices of Guinness World Record officials. We'll be watching to see how it all goes down.

Mini Vision Next 100 concept invokes an alternate universe

Sir Alec Issigonis, designer of the 1959 Mini, would probably find Mini's new Vision Next 100 concept amusing. The original Mini was largely an exercise in efficient packaging and clever engineering. That it was handsome, and became iconic, was more a product of its wild success than an intentional product of its exterior styling. While the Mini concept is undoubtedly cleverly packaged, it's almost purely a styling exercise, no matter what sort of futuristic connected/autonomous functionality Mini says it'll have. Mini doesn't seem able to move past the Mini as a caricature of itself. The heavy, floating roof, the vestigial round and friendly "headlamps", the oversized gauge pod. This seems very German, the inability to communicate essential brand attributes without using cliches. Mini is in a styling rut, trying to evolve the same basic styling language with each new generation, stretching it over larger hard points. The Vision Next 100 program would have been a great time to communicate to the public that Mini is more than just styling tropes: it's an attitude, a way of thinking, a connectedness to the driver. More than a badge or bug-eyed headlights. To its credit, the interior is massively decluttered. That's in part to the rear-engine layout, but more on that in a follow-up piece. The comparatively vast footwell and ultra-minimalist dash pair well with the giant windscreen. It feels light, airy, and authentic to the ideals of the originally Mini in terms of space efficiency, without being overly sentimental. Futurism is a thankless profession, and we can't take this concept literally as a vision of what the brand will be in 100 years. We can say this: it doesn't seem that Mini will be able to transcend the styling tropes that currently define Mini. Let's hope they find a way out of their rut. Related Video: Featured Gallery Mini Vision Next 100 Concept View 38 Photos Design/Style BMW MINI Coupe Hatchback Concept Cars Future Vehicles vision next 100

Next Mini Countryman spotted with swirls

Mini is continuing to update its models onto its latest UKL front-wheel-drive platform that it shares with parent BMW. Here, our spies caught an early glimpse of the next-gen Countryman testing on the new chassis.
Like the rest of the updated Mini lineup, the latest Countryman doesn't exactly show a huge shift in styling from the current version. The front end appears to be slightly more blunt, and the headlights have a redesigned shape. However, behind the A-pillar the differences seem to be pretty subtle. At the rear, the new Countryman also looks to adopt the brand's rounded rectangle taillights protruding into the hatch like on the standard Cooper Hardtop range. While not shown here, our spies claim that Mini is also aiming for a roomier interior for the upcoming crossover so that it can be more competitive in its class.
At least for now, the Countryman is going to be the largest vehicle in the Mini range, according to an earlier statement from chief designer Anders Warming. The CUV is rumored to debut around 2016 with some assembly possibly done at Mini's plant in the Netherlands. Until then, have a look at these spy shots and tell us what you think.