X-raid, the German private rally team based in Trebur near Frankfurt am Main, developed the All4 Racing in partnership with BMW's Mini brand to create a competitive factory-backed entrant for the world's toughest cross-country rally. The car was built around a modified version of the Mini Countryman's platform but shared little with the road car in terms of suspension, drivetrain, and interior architecture. The "All4" name referenced the Countryman's all-wheel-drive system; "Racing" signalled the purpose-built competition intent. The car was notably larger and more robustly engineered than the Countryman road car, with long-travel suspension and a high-mounted cabin to protect crews from the terrain impacts typical of Dakar competition.
The Mini All4 Racing made its competitive debut at the 2011 Dakar Rally, held across Argentina and Chile. It won immediately, with Stéphane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret taking the car category title. The same pairing also won the 2011 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge with the car, confirming it was not a one-event result.
Subsequent Dakar editions saw the All4 Racing continue to dominate. The car won the Dakar car category in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 — four titles in five seasons — making the Mini All4 Racing one of the most successful purpose-built cars in Dakar history. The wins were shared among multiple drivers, including Peterhansel (who is historically the most decorated Dakar driver), Nani Roma, and Nasser Al-Attiyah, who drove the car in 2014 and 2015 before later moving to Toyota Gazoo Racing.
Beyond Dakar, the All4 Racing accumulated wins across the global rally raid calendar. Notable victories included the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in 2013 and 2014, and the Rallye du Maroc in 2013, 2014, and 2015. At the 2013 Desafio Ruta 40 and 2014 Desafio Inca, Nani Roma and Michel Périn used the car to win those Argentine and Peruvian events respectively. The team also took championships in the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas categories, extending the car's record into shorter-format competition.
Production of the Mini All4 Racing concluded in 2015, after which X-raid developed the Mini John Cooper Works Rally as the next-generation platform. In 2017, the All4 Racing was formally succeeded by that car, which moved further toward a fully customised chassis while retaining the Mini nameplate. The JCW Rally was in turn joined by the open-frame Mini John Cooper Works Buggy from 2018 onward, marking X-raid's expansion into the buggy segment.
The Mini All4 Racing's four Dakar car category victories between 2011 and 2015 represent one of the strongest periods of dominance by a single model in modern rally raid history. During those years, the car won against competition from Volkswagen (who retired their factory programme after 2011), Nasser Al-Attiyah in a Volkswagen and later in the same Mini, and resurgent factory programmes from Peugeot. Its success validated the strategy of using a high-profile consumer brand — Mini — to carry a purpose-built competition architecture, a template that influenced how manufacturers approached cross-country rallying in subsequent years.