Thursday 19th December 2013

Dacia Duster for Dakar revealed

'Win on Sunday, sell on Monday' taken to new extremes by Dacia

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And you thought the one with the machine gun was the coolest Duster revealed this year... However, that's been superseded in the PH Dacia 'want one' list by this, the Dakar-spec Duster Rally.

300hp V6 better for this than 1.5 diesel

To take on everything that central and south America can throw at it, the Renaultsport Argentinean Duster (yep, it's factory backed) is totally overhauled with new wheels, brakes, suspension and so on. There aren't any specific stats so we can only go on what's shown in the promo video.

It's powered by a V6, which you'll be pleased to hear makes a lot of noise. 2014 will be Renault/Dacia's second attempt at the Dakar with a Duster; this year's car made 300hp so expect a similar output for next year.

From what we can find (which is very little), the Dusters didn't do too well this year. A competition car that looks like this deserves as much exposure as possible, so fingers crossed for a better result in 2014!

See it in action here

[Source: AutoEvolution]

[oldtimer2]

I wish them, and every other competitor, luck. They will need it.

[VeeDub Geezer]

So, when can we expect a petrol V6 road car?

[Dazed & Confused]

I usually love the way Dakar cars turn a road car up to 11, but this looks like a sort of amorphous blob.

I'm not sure, but I think the lines of the advertising act like extremely effective camo, and hide the actual lines of the vehicle. Manufacturers shouldn't bother with the usual black and white swirly crap on their secret testing models - this is much more effective. And they'd get money out of it too.

The bottom right picture in particular is especially unflattering.

Edited by Dazed & Confused on Thursday 19th December 12:28

[ReaderScars]

Small wheel diameter, poor ground clearance. Can't see this working.

[y2blade]

I wish them (and all on the Dakar) all the best of luck.

[anonymous-user]

Excellent. I love the Duster. (And yes I have driven one!)

If it was possible to spec heated seats and A/C on the Access model, there would be one sat on my drive now!

[shalmaneser]

[quote=Dazed & Confused] I usually love the way Dakar cars turn a road car up to 11, but this looks like a sort of amorphous blob.

I'm not sure, but I think the lines of the advertising act like extremely effective camo, and hide the actual lines of the vehicle. Manufacturers shouldn't bother with the usual black and white swirly crap on their secret testing models - this is much more effective. And they'd get money out of it too.

The bottom right picture in particular is especially unflattering.
[/quote]

Completely agree!

EDIT: Although all Dakar cars are cool by default, this one could do with a bit more styling!

[thechosenfamily]

I'm sorry, am I the only one who thought that the headline for this should have started "Great News!!!"

[bobberz]

thechosenfamily said:

I'm sorry, am I the only one who thought that the headline for this should have started "Great News!!!"

Nope, I was going to post it if someone else didn't. They should get James May to be the co-driver as a publicity stunt. Then again, they'd never finish!

Dakar is amazing. Scorching heat, huge jumps, fording raging rivers, no GPS, no "track" to follow, and a very real threat of death. Forget LeMans, this is highest test of man and machine!

The last bastion of truly dangerous, "old school" motorsport. Targa Florio, La Carrera Pan-Americana, Group-B, Dakar. All the rest are gone; Dakar stands alone!

Good luck to all the teams this year!

[DannyScene]

[quote=Dazed & Confused]
The bottom right picture in particular is especially unflattering.

Edited by Dazed & Confused on Thursday 19th December 12:28

[/quote]
Looks like it's been edited in instagram

[rogerhudson]

I was taught to drive dunes properly, no flying crap, just drive up and quick change down at the crest to roll over and have control on the steeper face.
Dakar is just an ad. man's willy wave.

[Madkat]

Can someone feed my ignorance, what has Renault got to do with it? They just supplied the engine?

[Madkat]

Is it just me or does it look like it's already rolled over and the panels are covered in dent's Or is that just my eyes going funny.

[dukebox9reg]

Madkat said:

Can someone feed my ignorance, what has Renault got to do with it? They just supplied the engine?

Dacia is owned by Renault and the current range is made up of the parts bin of the previous gen model bits (Clio etc).

Its just like Renault sticking the Infiniti badge on the front F1 cars. Their all in the same club.

Ferrari F1 cars have Fiat on the nose.

Its just all marketing.

Or it could just be a case of the Duster in Argentina is badged as a Renault rather than a Dacia.

[V8RX7]

rogerhudson said:

I was taught to drive dunes properly, no flying crap, just drive up and quick change down at the crest to roll over and have control on the steeper face.
Dakar is just an ad. man's willy wave.

How dull and that technique is unlikely to win the race - tortoises rarely do.

[DiscoColin]

dukebox9reg said:

Madkat said:

Can someone feed my ignorance, what has Renault got to do with it? They just supplied the engine?

Dacia is owned by Renault and the current range is made up of the parts bin of the previous gen model bits (Clio etc).
...
Or it could just be a case of the Duster in Argentina is badged as a Renault rather than a Dacia.

Correct. Dacias are simply sold with Renault badging in many markets and in Argentina (where of course the race starts) it IS the Renault Duster.

[RedAlfa]

MrBig said:

Excellent. I love the Duster. (And yes I have driven one!)

If it was possible to spec heated seats and A/C on the Access model, there would be one sat on my drive now!

If Dacia UK / Renault UK offered an automatic version ... there would also be one on my drive as well

[bakerstreet]

rogerhudson said:

I was taught to drive dunes properly, no flying crap, just drive up and quick change down at the crest to roll over and have control on the steeper face.
Dakar is just an ad. man's willy wave.

Dakar, mans willy wave??? People die trying to finish the dakar! People have been known to ride hundreds of miles with broken bones just to get the stage finish and then get up and ride again with about three hours sleep.

Even if you drop out of the race, its no easy task to get back to the finish or even the stage to meet your team.

I really like the look of the Dacia Duster and I wish the team the best of luck