There was an air of expectancy combined with nostalgia at the Cowley Mini plant this week.

The word legend is often overused but when it is referred to the original Mini Cooper S which won the Monte Carlo Rally three times in the 1960s, then it is quite appropriate.

Now Mini’s owner BMW has combined with specialist motorsport engineering firm Prodrive to produce a new rally car which was formally launched at a lavish celebration at the plant.

The crowd of more than 400 engineers, industry executives and journalists from across Europe and beyond were promised that “the legend” had returned and there have been bold predictions about winning the World Rally Championship in which it will have trials this year before embarking on the full-scale competition in 2012.

That remains to be seen and no doubt competitors Ford and Citroen may have something to say about the matter but one man who should know what he is talking about is certainly enthusiastic about the new car.

Paddy Hopkirk, winner of the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally in a Cooper S, said: “It is certainly a bit quicker than the original and it is packed with technology. I think it is a bit scary.”

That is saying something from a man who drove a tiny car to victory against the might of Ford and other seasoned competitors.

BMW’s celebration tried to recreate the excitement of that time at the launch but it was clear from the way the brash newcomer burst through a screen which had been showing a film of Hopkirk and fellow Monte Carlo winner Rauno Aaltonen behind the wheel of the old car that this is a different proposition.

The Austrian-built Mini Countryman on which the rally car is based is the biggest Mini to date and will hardly be dwarfed by its rivals.

And with Prodrive’s rally pedigree, particularly with the Subaru team with which it won six World Rally titles, there are high expectations of the newcomer.

Prodrive chairman David Richards said: “The Mini is the first car I ever drove, the first I drove a rally in and now it is such an exciting time to bring it back into the World Championship.

“We started designing the car in 2009 and testing it six months ago. Next year we expect to be challenging at the front and our challenge is to win the championship by 2013.

“The team have been working on the car 24 hours a day for the last six months. This car can create passion and emotion in everybody.”

And while BMW deliberately tried to recreate the romance of the 1960s, the aggressive streak which has seen its other cars compete in motorsport at a range of levels right up to Formula One shines through.

Sales and marketing board member Ian Robertson said: “We want to annoy the opposition as soon as possible. Our goal is to wn the World Championship.”

The four wheel drive car which, if it was available for sale would cost about £400,000, will make its debut at the first rally in Sardinia as it bids to re-write history.

It will be the start of a steep competitive learning curve but one which BMW hopes will be mastered very quickly.

Without revealing figures, Mr Robertson acknowledges the expense of developing the rally car but claims that new regulations in the sport limiting engine size mean costs are lower than in previous years.

And he believes there will be a significant sales spin-off for Mini as a result of its exposure in the World Rally Championship.

He added: “In the early years, success in motorsport contributed significantly to the rapid rise of the Mini.

“Back then, people saw that this little car not only looked good in everyday traffic but also had a sporty side. This has not changed.

“We chose the World Rally Championship to prove the sportiness of Mini cars to today’s generation of drivers.”

Behind the wheel will be Northern Ireland-born Kris Meeke<<both ok>>, 31, who celebrated his biggest success in rallying in 2009 when he and co-driver Paul Nagle won the Intercontinental Rally Challenge and 28-year-old Spaniard, Dani Sordo, <<both ok>> who for the last five years has been driving in the World Rally Championship with Citroen.

Meeke said: “We want to gain as much experience int he car as we can but everyone is here to win.

“We have done a lot of testing with the car and hope to be competitive from the early stages.”

The proof of the pudding will be in the eating but unlike its predecessor which created a sensation when it won the Monte Carlo Rally 47 years ago, much is expected of the new car which in terms of performance is about as far removed from “mini” as you can get with a breakneck 0-60mph acceleration time of 2.7 seconds and a top speed of 120mph.

But if the level of interest generated at the launch event is anything to go by, Mini and Cowley are set to be pushed even further into the international spotlight by this superfast newcomer.

• GLOBAL sales of the Cowley-built Mini have hit a new record.

A total of 30,689 cars were delivered to customers in March, a rise of 28.5 per cent on the same month last year and comfortably beating the previous record 26,693 Minis set in March 2008.

And in the first quarter of the year, total of 60,860 vehicles were sold — a rise of 22.9 per cent compared with the first three months of last year.

Mini parent company BMW also set a new record with 165,842 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles sold during the month, beating the previous sales high of 152,721 vehicles recorded in December 2007.

BMW sales and marketing board member Ian Robertson said: “This positive development is mainly thanks to our attractive model range and healthy auto markets in many parts of the world. Sales volume for 2011 is expected to rise to well over 1.5 million units, a new all-time high.”