MINI TAKES THE STATES 2018: MINI fans in East and West head out on a rally of driving fun across the USA.

Munich/Orlando/Portland. A two-fold start signal will launch the popular MINI TAKES THE STATES 2018 rally event today in two US cities. For the seventh edition of the cross country rally for owners and fans of the British premium models, the MINI community will drive to their joint destination on two routes for the first time. In the East the participants will start off from the holiday and leisure destination of Orlando/Florida. In the West, MINI enthusiasts will head off from Portland, the largest city in the state of Oregon. The participants from East and West will meet up exactly one week later. In Keystone, around 120 kilometres west of Denver/Colorado, the rally’s closing event will take place on 21 and 22 July 2018.

MINI TAKES THE STATES is carried out every two years and expresses the close ties between the MINI brand and the US fans of the British premium small and compact models. In 2016 more than 4 000 MINI drivers lined up at the start to at least one stage of the rally across the United States. More than 900 even travelled the entire distance of around 4 400 miles, equivalent to more than 7 000 kilometres.

This year, once again, thousands of MINI fans are expected and they can use two different routes this time. Both MINI TAKES THE STATES 2018 routes cover the same distance of around 2 515 miles (approx. 4 000 kilometres). The individual stages are between 200 and 460 miles long and lead through beautiful and interesting natural landscapes on carefully selected roads. Stop-overs in major cities along the tour allow other participants to join the convoy. From Orlando, the MINI Community first heads for Tallahassee and from there to the ski resort of Keystone via New Orleans, Dallas, Oklahoma City and Dodge City. The route from the West takes drivers to the Rocky Mountains via Sacramento, Los Angeles, Flagstaff and Santa Fe and other cities.

Apart from the fun social experience and the public declaration of commitment to the world of MINI driving fun, MINI TAKES THE STATES is above all also a charity event. A portion of the start fee and donations collected along the course of the rally, benefit a social project. All proceed will once again go to the Feeding America aid organisation. In 2016, the MINI TAKES THE STATES earnings financed more than 1.3 million meals for people in need in different parts of the United States.



In case of queries please contact:

Press and PR

Matthias Bode, Press Officer Product Communication MINI
Telephone: +49-89-382-61742, Fax: +49-89-382-28567
E-mail: matthias.bode@mini.com

Andreas Lampka, Head of Communication MINI
Telephone: +49 89-382-23662, Fax: +49 89-382-28567
E-mail: andreas.lampka@mini.com

Markus Sagemann, Head of Communication MINI, BMW Motorrad
Telephone: +49 89-382- 68796, Fax: +49 89-382-28567
E-mail: markus.sagemann@bmw.de



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