MINI TAKES THE STATES 2012: The MINI Community in the US embarks on an epic road trip from New York to Los Angeles.

Munich / New York / Los Angeles. The 10th anniversary of MINI’s arrival in the USA has triggered some very special celebrations in the most important sales market for the British premium small car brand. The highlight of this landmark year is an event experienced most intensely at the wheel of a MINI and whose slogan sums up how the brand has taken the US car market by storm over the past decade; the MINI Community embarked upon the MINI TAKES THE STATES coast-to-coast rally today (4 July 2012) – Independence Day in the US – in New York.

Dr Kay Segler, Senior Vice President MINI Brand Management, joined the field for the opening stage of the event, which led the drivers from MINI USA’s Woodcliff Lake headquarters in the north of New York City to the US capital Washington. Segler had used the opening ceremony to acknowledge the rapid development of the brand in the USA and look ahead to the next stage in the growth of the MINI model range. “We will continue to expand the MINI family,” said Segler, “and, in so doing, build on our global position as the leading manufacturer of premium models in the small and compact car segment.” And Segler went on to officially confirm “MINI Paceman” as the name of the brand’s seventh model, which will be presented in a few months’ time and launched onto the market in 2013.

The powerfully formed three-door model sees MINI once again laying the foundations for a whole new vehicle segment with the aim of giving more new target groups a taste of the excitement and allure of the brand. “The MINI Paceman is the world’s first Sports Activity Coupé in the premium compact segment. It combines a clear appetite for extravagance and infectious driving fun in a style that only a MINI could pull off with such authenticity,” Segler confirmed.

The strong interest generated by MINI TAKES THE STATES in this landmark year has underlined the ever-growing popularity of the MINI brand in the USA. This will already be the fourth time that the MINI Community has gathered in the “land of opportunity” for a rally taking the participants coast-to-coast across America through 16 states. The official closing ceremony is scheduled for 15 July at the finish in Los Angeles.

The MINI TAKES THE STATES organisers are expecting several thousand registered participants. Some will be driving individual stages only in their MINI, others undertaking the full 3,903-mile (6,281-kilometre) distance. In store for them is not only an automotive adventure over an extremely attractive route, but also an extraordinary shared experience both on the road and when the day’s driving is done. After New York and Washington, the convoy will pass through Charlotte and Nashville, Chicago, Des Moines, Boulder, Albuquerque and Phoenix, among other places, before crossing California on their way to Los Angeles, the Pacific coast and, most importantly, the venue for the end-of-rally party. A richly varied programme looking at every aspect of MINI will be spread over the stop-off points along the route. Activities include sporting competitions and slalom tests held on closed roads, free from the shackles of the otherwise strictly observed speed limits.

MINI TAKES THE STATES has been held every other year since 2006. As in all previous editions of the rally, the entry fees to the event will be donated to a charitable cause. To this end, a minimum of 10,000 US dollars will be presented to an organisation supported by MINI USA – regardless of the number of participants in the rally.