"MINI confirmed on Tuesday that it would compete with a racing version of its new Countryman model in 'selected' rounds of the World Rally Championship next year, and join the full slate of events in 2012. The race car will be developed and built by the British motorsports company Prodrive, which has been working on the project since early 2009."

MINI originally entered the rally world in the 1960s to great success, beating out much more powerful cars to win the Monte Carlo rally in 1964, 1965 and 1967.

Specifics for the competing Countryman haven't been released. The series, however, restricts the cars to about 300 horsepower and 442 lb-ft of torque. MINI's parent company, BMW, has announced that testing for the new car will begin in the fall. BMW has also said that MINI will compete in the series for several years.

The MINI Countryman will go on sale in the U.S. next year.