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Mini Countryman X-Raid gets some off-road chops courtesy of the Dakar team

Mini trades on its heritage quite a bit, particularly when it comes to racing. But one aspect of its motorsports history has been difficult to capitalize on: Dakar off-road racing. That's understandable, considering the disparity between Mini's road-going cars and the Mini-branded trucks built by X-Raid that do the racing. X-Raid itself seems to have figured out how to bridge that gap with its own set of upgrades for the Mini Countryman. X-Raid's example for its off-road upgrades is a Mini Cooper S Countryman All4, though we would expect the various parts could just as easily be fitted to other Countryman variants such as the base 134-horsepower Cooper Countryman. The S makes more sense for a racing company what with its 189-horepower turbocharged four-cylinder and the All4 offers off-road friendly all-wheel drive. Though Mini doesn't go into specifics about the suspension and chassis upgrades, we know that there is some level of suspension lift, as well as 28-inch all-terrain tires mounted on what appear to be 17-inch beadlock wheels. These modifications give the Mini Cooper S Countryman Powered by X-Raid (yes, that's the actual full name of the car) an extra 1.6 inch of ground clearance. As with the parts list, Mini and X-Raid haven't given precise pricing or availability for the parts. X-Raid is a German company, and we suspect it's only planning on selling the parts in Europe, but we wouldn't be surprised if there were a way to have them ship to the U.S. If you're interested in getting your own, Mini says to contact X-Raid directly for more details, and you can find their contact info at their official site, linked here. Related Video:

2015 Mini Hardtop 5-Door isn't for the country, man [w/video]

We've seen it in super high-res glory, and we can even build one on the automaker's website, but the Paris Motor Show marks the official coming out party for the new Mini Hardtop 4 Door (which is what it's called in the US, despite this Euro car having "5 Door" badging). It's a stretched version of the third-generation Mini Hardtop, but with an extra set of doors for rear seat passengers. Think of it as a more useful Clubman, but with a lower ride height and less rugged-ness than the Countryman. Got it? Good.
Engine options carry over from the normal Mini Hardtop range, with a 1.5-liter turbo-three and a 2.0-liter turbo-four offering 134 and 189 horsepower, respectively. The rest of the car is everything else you know and love from the Mini range, just with a more spacious rear bench. And as you'd expect, there's a nearly endless pallet of customization options.
The Hardtop 4 Door arrives at US dealerships just before the end of the year, commanding a roughly $1,000 premium over its three-door kin. Scope out our new live shots in the gallery above, and take in the extensive press blast, below.

Mini JCW Paceman vs. BMW M135i in family faceoff

Over the last year, we've had the chance to drive two of the most exciting hatchbacks in the BMW family - the BMW M135i and the Mini Paceman John Cooper Works - but Autocar has managed to get the two corporate cousins together for a head-to-head comparison. Just like our initial impressions of the Paceman JCW, Autocar has little to complain about this new 215-horsepower hatchback... until it begins to factor in the faster, better-mannered and similarly priced M135i.
Despite laying down an extra 100 hp and delivering a 0-60 time that is almost two seconds quicker, the M135i carries the same price tag of 29,535 pounds in the UK; US pricing for the Paceman starts at $36,200, while it still isn't even clear if the US will be getting the M135i. Even more surprising is the fact that the Paceman falls short of the M135i in regards to rear seat and cargo volume, and just barely squeaks out a win in the fuel economy department. Scroll down to watch the BMW versus Mini hot hatch battle.