While the prospect of international motorsport hasn't been at the forefront of anyone's mind for awhile (unless it's online, of course), that doesn't mean development hasn't been continuing behind the scenes. And although Dakar is not a PH specialist subject, anything that involves Prodrive has our interest; welcome, therefore, the Bahrain Raid Xtreme T1.
Hang on, you're most likely thinking, that doesn't have Prodrive in the name - which would be correct. Instead the Bahrain Raid Xtreme team (BRX from now on) has been created from Prodrive International, itself a collaboration between Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund and Prodrive. So the car has been under construction since the middle of last year in Banbury, with input from Ian Callum no less, to be campaigned by BRX.
The latest release says the T1 "builds on Prodrive's experience competing at the highest levels of world motorsport for over three decades"; with Dakar 2021 again set to take place in Saudi Arabia, the car is obviously four-wheel drive. Further notable points of the spec include 400hp and more than 500lb ft thanks to a turbo V6, a sequential gearbox, a 500-litre fuel cell, two adjustable dampers per wheel and a dry weight of 1,850kg.
Leading BRX will be Team Director David Richards, best known of course as founder and chairman of Prodrive. He said of the Dakar plan: "The Dakar Rally is one of the great challenges within motorsport, and one that Prodrive has been wanting to undertake for a long time; waiting for the right opportunity. The idea came from HRH Prince Salman; for Bahrain to enter a team. That was the birth of BRX.
"Our design team has been working on the car for over nine months. We have already been evaluating the engine on our transient dyno in Banbury and the first chassis is now being assembled in our workshop. The formation of a new team is incredibly exciting for everyone involved, and we truly believe we have created a team and car that is perfect to take on the Dakar Rally."
Clearly, everyone taking on the Dakar thinks they have the perfect team and car to compete. When the claim is being made by Prodrive, however, it's a statement that carries more weight than most - you don't win six world rally titles on ambition alone. With the first T1 now being assembled, it shouldn't be long before there's more to know about Prodrive's first Dakar assault. Count us among those very keen to see how it progresses.
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