Today’s Minis may be regarded as boutique cars in some quarters, writes Motoring Editor Peter Carroll. But there was a time when they were formidable motor sports competitors – especially on the rally stage.

In the 1960s, the Mini Cooper S was the equivalent of today’s ‘hot hatch’: Paddy Hopkirk won the Monte Carlo Rally in one, and mud-spattered Coopers regularly starred in episodes of BBC TV’s Grandstand, with Murray Walker providing his usual excitable commentary.

The rise of Lancia as a force in the 1970s followed by the arrival of four-wheel drive in the form of the Audi Quattro spelled the end of Minis as a competitive force – at least at the highest level.

But now the Oxford-based firm has signalled a return to the top rung of international rallying with a new 1.6 litre competition car based on the Countryman.

In a move that will surely be welcomed by British motorsport fans, Mini has signed up near neighbours Prodrive to help develop the car and poached rising star Kris Meeke to head up its World Rally Championship (WRC) campaign.

The team will use 2011 as a preparatory year, participating in six of the scheduled WRC rallies, before mounting a full-on assault in 2012.

Not to be be outdone, Ford has unveiled a new car too. It has retired its Focus RS WRC car and is preparing a 1.6 litre Fiesta RS-based car for 2011.

All of which should give Citroen something to think about. The French firm and its legendary driver Sebastien Loeb have dominated world rallying for much of the past decade.

Even when Citroen took a year off, Loeb still won the driver’s title in a privately-run Xsara.

His grip on the sport has been Schumacheresque and he recently won his seventh consecutive world title, with two events still to be staged.

During Loeb’s domination of rallying, rival manufacturers Subaru and Mitsubishi have fallen by the wayside, while young upstarts Suzuki and Skoda have been unable to afford the leap into the big league.

But now the Frenchman, at the aged of 36, is finally contemplating retirement, saying he has taken “enough risks” in what is an undeniably dangerous sport.

The 2011 season is expected to be his last – which could leave the way open for Mini and Ford to challenge Citroen’s dominance.

But the French also have a new car, in the form of the exciting DS3, as well as another talented Sebastien (Ogier) waiting in the wings to take over from Loeb.

My money is on Loeb next year to complete a stunning eighth consecutive championship victory. But 2012 could be very interesting. . .