This bizarre machine is a 1984 DAF ‘Double-Head’, built to compete in the Paris-Dakar rally by Dutch driver Jan de Rooy, who wanted more power than one DAF truck could provide. So he used two.
Joining two 11.6 litre DAF 3300s back-to-back behind the cabs, Jan created a twin-engined all-wheel-drive 13-ton behemoth, and one of the strangest Dakar competitors to ever enter.
Sadly the DAF ‘Double-Head’ failed to finish, but it set the template for Jan de Rooy to refine the idea and return with a vehicle that would go on to become a Dakar legend…
But we’ll stay in 1984 for now, courtesy of this spectacular recreation of the DAF ‘Double-Head’ by Flickr’s p.vanderloo, who has replicated not just the truck’s mad exterior but its drivetrain too.
A beautifully replicated livery and full LED lights complete the build, and you can head to the desert in 1984 – twice – via the link above.
































We’re not sure why trucks with two axles at the front and one at the back are known as ‘Chinese Sixes’. Probably something to do with casual racism. We won’t delve any further then, but we will highlight this splendid example by prolific DAF-builder Arian Janssens.
