top 10 of the craziest rally-raid vehicles!

Most participants do the Dakar on prepared vehicles typical of the event. But for others, running thousands of kilometers on engineering gems isn’t a crazy enough challenge – not for those who truly share the Dakar spirit.

While waiting for the start of the 2017 edition (January 2), here are the Dakar riders who prefer to run with something that fits a little less well in the desert!

In 1980, for the second edition of the Dakarfour eccentrics raced on a scooter Vespa P200E through the Sahara Desert, in particular. Believe it or not, but two of them – Marc Simonot et Bernard Tcherniavsky – managed to reach the Senegalese capital. Even if the ordeal was then over.

In 2009, Vespa riders inspired the Czech Ivo Kastan to attempt the Dakar on a small motorcycle made of parts from a Honda XL200. The bike only had a 146cc engine and 14-inch wheels and weighed 180 kilos with the driver. Kastan did not reach Dakar, but he finished stages.

The enormous Titan is one of the most interesting experimental vehicles to have raced on the Dakar. The baby of the boss of Audi Sport Italia, Emilio Radaelliand the veteran pilot Michele Cinottowas named Titan. It was powered by an Audi 3.0 V6 TDI bi-turbo engine around which was articulated a tubular chassis built in the workshops Piedmont Epa-Power of the Albertinazzi family. It developed 650Nm of torque for 300 horsepower.

Unfortunately, the Titan only completed the first stage of the 2015 Dakar before experiencing electrical problems. It was repaired, but failed again after about twenty kilometers – this time for good.

Back again in 1979, the year when 7 crews raced on Fiat Campagnola. And 4 of them made it to Lac Rosé, just 30 kilometers from the finish. Cesare Giraudo et Antonio Cavalieri won the Bamako-Nioro stage and finished third in the cars (seventh overall).

In 1981, Thierry de Montcorgé bet with friends that he could do the famous African rally with his luxurious Rolls-Royce Corniche. Of course, the Rolls had to be specially prepared for the desert, which included removing its mini-bar. Thierry de Montcorgé ordered a special body that weighed only 80 kilos and added a 4×4 drivetrain borrowed from a Toyota. Unfortunately, he was disqualified during the thirteenth stage for an non-regulatory repair.

In 1984, Thierry de Montcorgé raised the level for his next attempt, returning to the Paris-Dakar with this prototype Jules II six-wheeled. It was powered by a 3.5l Chevrolet V8 coupled to a Porsche 935 transmission. The name Jules comes from the perfume from Christian Dior, which sponsored Montcorgé as in 1981 on its Rolls-Royce. After another promising start, Montcorgé had to retire when his chassis broke during the third stage.

With more than 30,000 race victories, Porsche is unbeatable on asphalt – a fact they underlined by winning Le Mans and the WEC World Championship in 2015. They are not as strong away from the asphalt, but in 1984 they won the Paris-Dakar with a 911 SC which had been modified to 4-wheel drive.

In reality, the result surprised Porsche, so they came back with 3 Porsche 959s built especially for 1985. Unfortunately the cars had not been tested, and all three had to retire due to technical problems. In 1986 they came back after digging out things like ABS and additional turbos. Only 67 of the 488 competitors at the start completed the 1986 edition, with two Porsches in the lead.

One of the biggest efforts to date on the Dakar was seen in 2005, when the Marques brothers participated in a Citroën 2CV of 1963. Georges Marquez and Cyril Ribas reinforced the chassis and suspensions and added two Citroën Visa engines to increase the power to… 100 horsepower. Unfortunately, the Bi-Bip2 Team had to abandon on the fourth stage due to a broken rear suspension.

The prize for the strangest vehicle on the Dakar goes to the Belgian Hervé Dierswho raced in 2009 in a French fry truck. The car was a pickup Toyota of 200 horsepower, adapted for the most famous rally-raid. When the team arrived at the bivouac after the first stage, the pilot and co-pilot fried 7 kilos of fries to feed the camp. Then they left again and finished in fifty-eighth place.

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