Five strange and obscure Dakar prototypes

The iconic Dakar Rally is once again upon us. High time, then, to take a look back in history at five of the strangest and most obscure vehicles built for the monster race.

1. Lada Samara T3 (1990)

Lada may not be the first brand you think of when you think of the Dakar Rally. Ahead, a Niva could certainly hold its own in the production class, but you won’t find the Russians among the real winners anytime soon. After all, the mother country is much better at building rock-solid racing trucks.

Yet back in 1990 Lada was at the start with a genuine Dakar prototype, loosely based on popular Golf rival Samara. Very loosely. Indeed, unlike the obscure Group B prototypes a few years earlier, the Samara T3 had absolutely nothing in common with the production model, apart from the lights. Under the skin, in fact, the car was nothing less than a Porsche 959, the winner of the 1986 rally.

Fearing a possible ban on turbo engines, the 400-hp 2.9 twin turbo six-cylinder boxer from the 959 Rally was replaced with a naturally-breathing 3.6 from the 964. With a little help from an American Porsche specialist, power was boosted from 250 to 300 hp.

All that work, however, turned out to be for naught. Under pressure from Peugeot – which had won the three previous turbocharged rallies – the proposed ban was still taken off the table. As a result, the Samara T3 fell well short of the French competition. Peugeot managed to win again in 1990, after which sister brand Citroën took over. Jacky Ickx took seventh place for the car officially listed as Lada 210910. Tambay repeated that trick in 1991.

2. Renault 5 6×6 (1980)

More is not always better, but often more fun. That was apparently the philosophy of French tinkerer Christian de Léotard. With the help of 4×4 specialists Sinpar, the Frenchman created a very special variant of the popular Renault 5. The little city car was lengthened by almost a meter, 180 kilograms heavier and fitted with an additional axle. For propulsion provided a 1.4 liter four-cylinder with 93 hp, known from the R5 Alpine hot hatch.

Power was routed to the first rear axle via a Sinpar system, but on the second, drive was provided by a hydrostatic system. This involves driving a hydraulic pump, which then uses the pressure of the fluid to move a hydraulic motor. According to De Léotard, this system – familiar from the agriculture and construction industries – offered more flexibility than a traditional drive train.

Unfortunately, the 5 6×6 didn’t really get a chance to prove its maker’s claims. At the 1980 Paris-Dakar Rally, Christian de Léotard and navigator Francis Dumortier suffered mechanical problems early on. At the urging of sponsor Marantz (a stereo manufacturer), the duo decided to take it easy and drop out of the standings. The great little Renault still managed to reach the famous beach in Senegal in the end. A Renault 4 with the standard Sinpar system finished third that year.

After the relative success of the Dakar special, De Léotard continued merrily with 6×6 conversions. The crown piece of his collection eventually became an R5 Turbo 6×4, with an Alpine engine in the nose and a turbo block in the middle.

3. Mercedes-Benz NG 1932 AK with trailer (1985)

Race trucks are commonplace in the Dakar Rally. After all, the powerful behemoths of DAF, Iveco, Tatra and Kamaz have been entertaining fans for decades. A truck complete with trailer does not appear for obvious reasons. In 1985, however, things were different. Indeed, the team of Francoise Morcrette, Alain Guilmeau and Flavien Malguy appeared at the start with a Mercedes with a trailer.

The four-wheel drive NG 1932 AK had already competed in 1981 and 1984, serving as a service car in between. Under the wings of its new owners, however, the truck was fitted with a genuine fullsize trailer. However, the trailer was not simply towed along on the leaden rally. As with the aforementioned Renault 5 6×6, the thing was fitted with a hydrostatic drive on the single rear axle.

With a woman behind the wheel and a trailer, no one took the unusual machine seriously. Apart from a few teething problems with the trailer’s drive system, however, the team was able to keep up well. However, when at a service point there appeared to be no fuel available, Morcrette and co were worked out of the standings. Despite everything, the Mercedes crew persevered and still managed to finish the rally.

4. Jules II Proto 6×4 (1984)

The Jules II looks like it was ridden straight out of a low-budget scifi movie or an Italian Mad Max imitation, but in 1984 the Jules II was a serious player. The unique machine was the brainchild of French daredevil Thierry de Montcorgé, the man who had driven a Rolls Royce Corniche to Senegal in 1981. That car was actually a Toyota Landcruiser with a Chevrolet V8 and a fiberglass body, but that was not to spoil the fun. The car was nicknamed Jules because of its sponsorship of perfume brand Dior.

As a follow-up to the off-road Roller, De Montcorgé was apparently inspired by Blade Runner and its relatives. Jules II was based on a special tubular frame, with the Chevy V8 now in the middle and mated to a Porsche gearbox. The futuristic bolide was intended for a revival of the killer Peking to Paris rally, but when it failed to materialize, Thierry entered his creation for the 1984 Paris-Dakar.

Unlike the original Jules, however, number two proved not strong enough for the harsh desert life. Already in the Algerian desert, the chassis cracked, forcing the team of De Montcorgé and navigator Jean-Pierre Nicolle to give up.

5. Venturi 260 Atlantique Paris-Dakar (1992)

Okay, this may be a bit of a cheat, as the Venturi never managed to make it to the start of a rally. Still, we didn’t want to deprive you of this obscure off-road supercar. In the early 1990s, the small French sports car company Venturi was trying to move up the ranks. The brand had emerged in 1984 and, after several concept cars, began producing sports cars with the PRV V6 at the center in 1987. With the 260 Atlantique, which appeared in 1991, Venturi hoped to finally make a fist against competitors such as Ferrari and Porsche.

A proven method of building one’s reputation as a sports car brand is, of course, racing. That, then, is exactly what racing driver Jean-Louis Maigret suggested to Venturi CEO Xavier de la Chapelle. Maigret, however, had a very different discipline in mind than you might expect. Due to a series of Dakar participations with a Peugeot P4 (the French Mercedes G-Class), the Frenchman had the necessary experience with the PRV V6, and suggested building a Dakar prototype based on the 260 Atlantique. Maigret received enthusiastic support from the Japanese Venturi importer, but the idea was not taken up by management.

Then-Venturi owner Didier Primat had a much larger project in mind due to talks with Formula One team Larrousse, but still allowed a small club of enthusiasts to work on the Dakar machine after all. A 260 Atlantique was thoroughly tackled with reinforcements, off-road suspension and a unique body, but the powertrain remained untouched.

The 260-hp 2.8-liter turbo V6 still drove only the rear wheels. Plans for an all-wheel drive system coupled with a 350 hp two-liter turbo four-cylinder from the Renault 21 were never realized. Indeed, due to the green light for the F1 project in 1992, no further work was carried out on the Dakar prototype.

The car was left to its fate for a long time, but in 2004 it was once again welcomed with open arms at Venturi. At the instigation of new owner Gildo Pallanca Pastor, a complete restoration was carried out and the Dakar machine received a 300-hp three-liter twin turbo V6.