The best cars of the Dakar Classic

The Dakar Rally finished at the end of last week. It was won by Nasser Al Attiyah in a Toyota Hilux V8, with nine time WRC champion Seb Loeb finishing second in his BRX Hunter. Audi made history by getting all three of their electrically-driven RS Q e-trons to the finish.

But that wasn’t what we most enjoyed about this year’s event. You see 2022 featured the second running of the Dakar Classic alongside the main event. First run last year, where it attracted 24 entries, this year it had grown to nearly 150 cars and trucks, proving once and for all that a thirst for retro adventure runs deep.

To qualify machines had to pre-date 2000, but didn’t necessarily have had to run the event back in the day. It used similar routes as the main event, but runs in a slightly different way. Rather than going flat out against the clock, Dakar Classic runs as a regularity event – they give you an average speed and the closest to it wins. That doesn’t mean they’re just pootling about the desert – on some sections the quicker cars had to average 90mph…

Anyway, here’s our pick of the best stuff we saw out there.

Photography: Mark Riccioni

Back in 1979 a Range Rover won the first ever official running of the Paris-Dakar rally (as it then was). 182 started, only 74 made it to the end, with a chap called Alain Genestier first across the line in his Range Rover. Naturally enough a fair few people wanted to emulate him. Original Range Rovers were a popular choice.

As were classic 911s. Hardly surprising given that safari spec Porsches are just about the most desirable cars on the planet right now. But actually doing a rally-raid in one rather than having a blat on some forest tracks? That’s a proper test. This one was run by an Italian team alongside a bunch of Mitsubishi Pajeros.

The interior of – and I kid you not – a Citroen CX. Dutch registered, it looked utterly bog standard from the outside. In brown. Single spoke steering wheel – check, rocker indicators – check, aftermarket dash fans to deal with Saudi heat – er, check?

Ah, the two-way Daf truck. Usually seen driving recklessly around the bivouac, it actually competed in the original race back in 1984.

Because of course there’s at least one Mercedes G-Wagen taking part. Bet he didn’t have a single issue.

This doesn’t really have a name, but it’s based on a VW Beetle, using a Porsche 914 flat four naturally aspirated engine. About 80bhp reckons the guy behind it, Stephan Lemarre, but worth double that since it sports a pair of Seventies F1-style upright intakes. It’s tiny inside, ridiculously cramped. I ask him if it’s really uncomfortable. “It’s OK,” comes the reply, “the worst is how cold it is when the sun is down.”

Now, there’s a bit of confusion with this. It’s probably arisen because the mechanic who was spannering the car when I started gawping at it didn’t speak much English and my French is limited to bar use only. Anyway it is either the exact ex-Ari Vatanen long wheelbase Peugeot 205 T16 desert racer that won the event outright back in 1987. Or it’s an exact replica. Neat way around the ban on cigarette advertising. Dakar Classic is about as far as motorsport gets from F1.

It’s not cheap to do Dakar Classic. There’s a €10,000 entry fee, plus additional costs for each crew member/support truck and so on. So they need sponsorship. Dakar has a rich history of one-man bands from small towns and villages being sponsored by a local co-operative with the whole village chipping in to send their chosen golden child to battle the desert. It applies equally to the Classic. Witness this Lada Niva being backed by the Garage de la Piscine in Beauvais.

An all time great. Back in 1996 this Mitsubishi Pajero was one of the fastest cars in the race. Powered by a turbocharged 2.4-litre Galant VR4 motor it had – and still has – 440bhp. Which, considering it’s about half a tonne lighter than today’s front runners and has power in the same ballpark, still makes it one of the quickest things out there. The guy running the team said that back in the day this hit 237kmh (147mph) flat out in the desert. Today all cars, even the factory Toyotas, BRXs and Audis are limited to 170kmh (106mph). Was he happy about the speed restriction? He was Italian. What d’you reckon?

My absolute favourite. An old Peugeot 404 van. But have a closer look. Think it maybe looks a bit… wrong? Well you’re right. Under the skin this is actually a Mitsubishi Pajero on to which some diligent Frenchmen have grafted some fibreglass and steel panels. Under the fabric back you can actually see the original Pajero bodyshell.

A flatnose Porsche 911. In the Dakar bivouac. We thought we’d seen everything and then this turned up. Thank you Dakar. You rock.