You know a buggy ready for the Dakar, a replica of the one brought into the race by the nine-time world rally champion Sebastian Loeb, which however is capable of reaching 300 km / h? The answer can only be no, because so far this car did not exist. Now, however, it exists, thanks to the commitment of Prodrive. The only problem is that it’s not exactly cheap, as it takes 1.5 million euros plus taxes to take it home. There is also another problem: they will only build 25. So wealth is not enough. The name of this species of monster is Prodrive Hunter and, in fact, it comes from the racing car that took part in the Bahrain Raid Xtreme. With its technical characteristics it can juggle both desert sand and mountain off-road vehicles.
Let’s start by saying that the power of the 3.5 V6 bi-turbo engine has increased by 50% compared to that of the racing vehicle and that the torque reaches 700 Nm. The sequential manual gearbox, on the other hand, has been replaced by a gearbox on the steering wheel. six gears, ensuring changes in milliseconds. Theoretical performance is less than 4 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100km / h and a top speed of nearly 300km / h. It is important to emphasize its theoretical nature because the Hunter uses 35-inch off-road tires, custom made and designed to optimize grip on rough terrain and sand rather than asphalt. So it would take a hefty dose of unconsciousness to try to verify these numbers in some racetrack.
But there is an explanation for everything “We wanted to keep the Hunter as close as possible to the original of the Dakar – says David Richards, number one of Prodrive – we want to give those who will drive it the opportunity to experience what it is like to tame a real Dakar car through the desert, but with all the comforts of a production vehicle and the ability to drive it anywhere “. Finally, as for the design, the forms of the Hunter were sculpted by Ian Callum, who for twenty years was the style manager of all Jaguars. And if the purpose of this Hunter is not yet clear, here are Richards’ words again “In some parts of the world, particularly the Middle East, there are vast expanses to explore. So why not create a vehicle that gives the opportunity to explore them with exceptional performance? “
