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Watch Jay Leno bounce around with Dakar winner Roma in his Mini All4Racing

With Jay Leno off the Tonight Show, he has all the time in the world to focus on his passion for cars and can even travel a little. Leno teamed up with two-time Dakar Rally winner Nani Roma to jump and slide a Mini Countryman All4 racing truck around the dunes in Death Valley, CA.
The Mini-branded trucks are highly modified for off-road duty. They have won the Dakar Rally consecutively in 2012, 2013 and 2014 and even took a 1-2-3 finish in the most recent running. The specialized Minis are propelled over the dunes by a BMW-sourced, diesel engine with a six-speed sequential gearbox and heavy-duty all-wheel drive system with a locking center differential.
It is amusing to see the big smile on Leno's face, and Roma appears a little worried while Jay is driving. If this is what to expect from the post-Tonight Show Jay Leno's Garage videos, then things are only getting better from an already fantastic series. Scroll down to watch Leno and Roma take a Mini through the dunes.

Remember that world-record jump crash? Here's every angle, including the human one

While there are those who watch automotive exploits hoping (secretly or otherwise) for a spectacular crash, most of us are happy when everything goes smoothly. But at the end of the day, a daring stunt wouldn't be a daring stunt if there weren't some element of danger. And make no mistake about it, Guerlain Chicherit's recent long-jump record attempt was a daring stunt if ever there was one.
Chicherit, for those unfamiliar, is a French athlete who made the rare transition from "conventional" sports to motor sports. An accomplished professional skier, these days Guerlain drives a specially-prepared Mini Countryman in off-road events like the Dakar Rally and in death-defying stunts. Last year he managed to backflip his Mini and land in the record books, and this past winter he went after Tanner Foust's record by attempting a 360-foot jump at a ski resort in the French Alps. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned.
Despite several practice jumps at closer distances, the final attempt ended in a massive cartwheel crash in front of the gathered crowds. Several spectators published footage of the crash soon after it happened, but now GoPro has released a more comprehensive compilation showing the lead-up to the event and the jump itself from every angle - inside, outside and away from the vehicle. It's guaranteed to make you cringe, but remember that Guerlain miraculously escaped with minimal injury and will live not only to tell the tale, but likely to take another crack at it. Whether you're the kind to gawk at such a crash or not, the video below is worth watching.

2019 Mini Cooper 4-Door will have new head- and taillight designs

Squint hard and you'll still probably see the exact same car. Squint really hard, then pull up multiple side-by-side photos on multiple screens, call in a buddy, and then you just might be able to see how the 2019 Mini Cooper will differ from the current model year. This is a midcycle refresh of a Mini - if you were expecting something different, we don't like your odds in Vegas. But, let's take a look at what is clearly new on the test mules spotted by spy photographers in Germany. Although the camo is doing a bang-up job, the taillights are different than the circular, bubble-like elements that are currently on the Cooper and that we saw in our last 2019 Cooper spy photos. The reverse light seems to be in the same position, but the bold horizontal LED strip could indicate the Cooper will be adopting the Union Jack-inspired taillights from the Mini John Cooper Works GT Concept unveiled at Frankfurt in September. On the other hand, those concept taillights did not have the large vertical element of this camo'd test mule, nor can we see any evidence of diagonal elements. Maybe they're just going with an English flag homage, to hell with the rest of Britain? Maybe not. Up front, the headlight clusters are also different, but they do seem to be the same upgraded headlights we saw on that Mini test mule back in May. There is without question a visual similarity between these and the JCW GP Concept - albeit without the red color. We're not sure what the rest of the camo might be hiding up front, but it doesn't seem to be anything major. Back at the rear, there seems to now be a bit of a lip built into the trim piece above the license plate. As for mechanical and interior changes, we wouldn't expect anything big on that front, either, as Mini has rarely made noteworthy updates mid-way through a generation. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2019 Mini Cooper 4-Door: Spy Shots View 9 Photos Spy Photos MINI Hatchback mini cooper s