This weekend Dakar 2021 will get started and we take a look in the history of Dakar with the strangest rides which ever competed.
10. Bug bitten
Dior had clearly caught the rallying bug in 1981, as evident in perhaps the most bizarre creation ever to grace the Paris Dakar, the Jules Proto 6×4 Dakar Racer of 1984. It was just as radical mechanically as it was cosmetically, too, boasting a spaceframe, Kevlar-clad chassis, four wheel-drive (the rearmost axle was not powered) and a mid-mounted Chevrolet V8 mated to a Porsche 935 gearbox. Apparently the chassis snapped.
9. Six Wheeled Creation
Speaking of six-wheeled contraptions, Frenchman Christian de Leotard used the 1980s Paris-Dakar rallies as a proving ground for his six-wheeled creations, which included wacky interpretations of the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon, Range Rover, Renault 5 Turbo and Peugeot P4.
8. Two headed truck
Jan de Rooij built this two headed truck to race in 1984’s Dakar. It had two engines and two heads but unfortunately it never got to the start. They got a failure on their way to the start and they had a truck full of spare parts but one small part of only 30 pounds was broke and they did not have another to repair it.
7. Dakar 2cv
This 2cv was piloted by Cyril Rabas and competed in the 2005 and 2007 Dakar rally’s. Both non finishes, in 2005 a broken clutch prevented that and in 2007 they were hit by an other car.
What is really special about this car is that is an 4×4 and they pulled that of by shoving one engine in the back and one in the front.
6. Rolls Royce Corniche
In 1981 Thierry De Montcorgé did have a bet with some friends saying his Rolls-Royce Corniche could compete in Dakar. He adjusted his car and took out his minibar. Unfortunately he got disqualified when he was 13th because of illegal maintenance on his car.
5. Fiat Panda
Two Fiat Panda Cross cars have competed in Dakar in 2007 and 10 years later they were back with another Fiat Panda 4 x 4 in Dakar. The so called PanDAKAR was pretty funny to see in the desert.
4. Smart
This Smart car was built for Dakar and although it is a very small car, the picture below shows he was ready for the real deal. But because of financial trouble it never started the race. Unfortunately.
3. Renault 4
In 1974 a Renault 4 competed in Dakar which only 20 horse power. No wonder it crossed the finish-line last. Renault never gave up and it again raced in the “Cross Elf Cup of France” in 1974 and the “Routes du Monde” programme in 1968. They built the Renault 4 Sinpar and ended 5h in 1979 and 3rd in 1980 in Paris-Dakar.
2. Toyota Land Cruiser french fries mobile
In 2008 two Belgian drivers drive in Dakar with their Toyota Land Cruiser french fries mobile. They did open their car after a stage and made french fries for all drivers.
1. Vespa
We believe the strangest ride ever in Dakar must be this Vespa. Yvan Tcherniavsky drove this Vespa P200E in 1980 and reached to the finish line in Senegal. Note: The Dakar rally was ended already for days at that moment.
BONUS: Below you see a compilation of strange cars who raced in Dakar.