It's 7pm and pitch black, save for a few piercing spot lights casting a harsh white radiance over a concrete yard. The mercury is hovering around zero and every bare metal surface I touch sends a chill through my bones. Despite these rather hostile conditions however, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.
Chilly start for Race2Recovery's Dakar challenge
Race2Recovery Dakar Rally
team's Alton HQ in Hampshire for delivery driver detail with a difference. Namely pointing one of the team's Wildcats down to the coast, putting it on an overnight ferry with the rest of the race vehicles and driving off the other side and onto Le Havre docks for the 2014 Dakar Rally scrutineering.
So, mouth suitably watering at the thought of driving a fully-fledged competition vehicle, Dakar veteran Ben Gott installs me in the hot seat to give me a run through of the car's controls before we set off.
Pre-flight checks
While the team members are busying themselves topping up the gearbox oil level on their 35,000kg, 1,000hp MAN truck, Ben runs me through procedures with the Wildcat: "Green is go, red is stop. Simple," he says. I'm with him so far...
Sean checks out his ride for the next 24 hours
"Then you have to hit the 'Ign on' button - this primes the fuel pumps." Cue a buzz and a whir behind me, as two almighty pumps get ready to supply the Jag 4.0-litre V8 with juice from the 375-litre tank.
"Next, hit the start button. No throttle, let it turn over and she'll catch. The gearbox is easy. It's a six-speed sequential Quaife unit - back for up, forward for down. It's got a paddle clutch in it so it likes to be off or on. That's about it."
I follow his lead and the engine churns over for a few seconds before a flare of revs slowly settle to an aggressive but melodic bark from the exhaust. Dip the clutch, hook first with a schuuunk, pick the throttle up and don't stall it.
Wildcats on the way
Once out on the road, the first thing that gets me is the throttle pedal and how the motor delivers its power. The accelerator has plenty of travel, and although it kicks out around 320hp, meaning 0-60mph in around 5.0 seconds... off-road... But it's the 320lb ft of torque that grabs you.
Quaife sequential puts V8's power down
The motor pulls cleanly from around 1,500rpm and really starts to get rude at around 3,000. With a bare cabin and no sound deadening, the noise is epic - like a bassy, metallic, thrashing ring. Breathing through a 36mm restrictor, by 5,000rpm it's near enough all done and the shift lights are winking at you, illuminating the November gloom and the darkness flooding in from outside. Kick the clutch slightly, yank the lever, another schuuunk and it happens all over again.
My co-driver for the journey is Philip 'Barney' Gillespie, an injured serviceman turned rally navigator who already has one Dakar finish under his belt .
"The torque is amazing - it's perfect for pulling you up the face of a sand dune when you need it, and the gearbox means you can just go bang and do it again." He's spot on.
Onto the ferry for the first leg of Dakar entry
If the engine's surprising for its long-legged character, the steering isn't. On desert-spec rally tyres and with usual driver Tony Harris' settings dialled in, it's a bit slow and indistinct for me - he likes it like this, whereas the other car I drove felt pointier and more alert.
Cold dampers on off-road settings mean on the road we're not even scratching the Wildcat's surface, but the greasy conditions still highlight the car's amazing ability to sniff out traction.
As we near Portsmouth day one ends without issue, rolling the convoy safely onto the ferry. Day two, however, would be a different matter.
Heat of the moment
As we rumble off the boat to a flurry of camera phones the next morning and sit in the cue for immigration, the coolant temperature on the Wildcat's Bosch motorsport display steadily ticks higher until it's backlit in red and reading 116 degrees. I knock the engine off just to be on the safe side.
Into France and everything's going well...
On the move again and watching the dash like a hawk with an overly hot V8 in front of it, the temperature settles back to normal and the team decides to stop at an aire to perform another check on the T5's gearbox oil level. But, after Barney breaks for a Gauloise (we are in France, after all) and we get back on the road, the Wildcat's digital display immediately rockets up to 120. It keeps on rising, too.
121, 122, 123 - it just kisses 125 and I kill the engine before it kills itself, mindful that this is the car that'll be on the start line in South America next January. As we sit at the side of a French autoroute 34km away from scrutineering in Le Havre, coolant ominously bubbling away behind me, things don't look good.
But the R2R never-give-up attitude and military-honed precision immediately takes over. A trail of Land Rovers line the hard shoulder as the mechanics set to work. A faulty thermostat is immediately diagnosed, and after a bit of a battle fitting the new one, the car's fixed. Except by the side of the road the team can't fully bleed the coolant system.
...until R2R's first upset makes presence felt
That means they have to tow it into scrutineering - not exactly the message you want to send out.
Pass with flying colours
Even with the temperature issue, it was never in doubt the team would make it through. After reorganising their slot, both Wildcat's were allocated race numbers and stickers before being locked away in Parc Ferme.
Even before the race had started, R2R had to deal with adversity - it's what these guys have faced for a good chunk of their lives. And the spirit, determination and professionalism they show is incredible. They're an inspiration, the definition of heroes. With over 3,000 off-road miles ahead of them, it certainly won't be their will that gives up. Let's hope the Wildcats can keep pace.
PH wishes Race2Recovery the very best of British for Dakar 2014.
RACE2RECOVERY WILDCAT
Engine: 4,000cc
Transmission: Quaife 6-speed sequential manual, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 320 (approx)
Torque (lb ft): 300lb ft@3,850rpm
0-62mph: 5.0 seconds (off-road)
Weight: 2,200kg (approx) including full 375-litre fuel tank