Tag Archives: Dakar Rally

When a Truck Overtook a Rally Car

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Back in the ’80s, motorsport rules were… loose. Group B rallying created monsters beyond anything seen before, and Dakar… well that was even wilder. Entered in the late-’80s, DAF’s unbelievable eleven-ton TurboTwin 95 X1 was powered by two engines with three turbochargers each, producing a combined 1,200bhp, and which – as this infamous helicopter footage from the 1988 event shows – made it so fast it could overtake the leading cars.

Piloted by Dutch legend Jan de Rooy, the TurboTwin won the truck category in 1987, before an awful 180km/h crash killed one of Jan’s teammates the following year, causing DAF to immediately halt all motorsport activities and withdraw the TurboTwin mid-competition.

Sadly we’d not see its like again, but we can still get up close to DAF’s astonishing Dakar racer courtesy of previous bloggee Nanko Klein Paste, and his spectacular brick-built replica.

Constructed in 1:16 scale, Nako’s TurboTwin recreation includes those two triple-turbo engines, complete with intake pipes, radiators and intercoolers, pressure vessels and ancillaries, a removable body liveried with superbly replicated decals, a hugely detailed interior behind opening doors, and full LED lighting from Brickstuff.

On display at the DAF Museum in Eindhoven later this year, there’s more to see of Nanko’s amazing creation at his ‘DAF TurboTwin 95 X1’ album on Flickr, and you can overtake a Dakar-winning Peugeot rally car at 200km/h in an eleven ton truck via the link above.

My Other Car’s a Ford GT

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This is a Red Bull SMG Dakar Buggy, of the sort used by World Rally Champion Carlos Sainz (no not that one, his father) to compete in the world’s toughest enduro, before he switched to the works Audi RS Q e-tron that took him to the 2023 Dakar victory.

Built by previous bloggee gyenesvi, this superbly liveried creation has been constructed only from the parts found within the 42154 Technic Ford GT set, and features all-wheel suspension, a mid-mounted V6 engine, ‘HOG’ steering, and opening doors.

Building instructions and a downloadable decal sheet are available, and you can convert your own Ford supercar into a desert conquering buggy via both Eurobricks and Bricksafe.

Desert Lion

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France isn’t known for strong animal symbolism, with a chicken usually being selected as the animal of choice.

Peugeot – weirdly – does have a good animal symbol, what with the marque’s badge being a roaring lion. Cue this rather appropriate Peugeot 2008 DKR, first entered into the Dakar Rally in 2015, when it was, um… held nowhere near Dakar, instead taking place in South America. Where there are no lions.

Oh well, the title would’ve made sense if the rally was still held in Senegal.

No matter, because Peugeot’s desert lion was a cunning thing, being two-wheel-drive rather than four, thus allowing it to adhere to Dakar’s ‘Buggy’ regulations which permitted far more leeway in other areas.

Powered by a twin-turbo V6 diesel, and with in-built hydraulic jacks to change inevitable punctures, the 2008 DKR was… rubbish. But the following year Peugeot returned, and – having worked out the 2008 DKR’s reliability issues – won the race outright, with the 2008’s successor winning again in 2017 and 2018.

This spectacular homage to the wild mid-2010s buggy has been constructed by previous bloggee Lipko, who has not only captured the 2008 DKR’s exterior brilliantly, he’s included the mid-mounted V6 diesel engine, in-built jacks, monster suspension, working steering, and a 4-speed sequential gearbox, plus squeezed in two spare wheels, which was apparently the hardest part of the whole build.

A neat livery, full roll-cage, and a superbly-detailed engine bay and interior add even more realism, and you can check out full details and find further photos of Lipko’s model at the Eurobricks forum.

Click the link above to see more, or on the video below to watch the desert lion in action.

YouTube Video

Sharknado

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Sharks are definitely not cut out for life on land. No-one told the makers of Sharknado though, who managed to extract such cinematic brilliance from the premise that a further five films have followed. If they keep going surely eventually one’s going to win an Oscar.

Anyway, enough on the tragic state of film-making – here’s another fictional land-based shark – but unlike the aforementioned cinematic disgraces, this one is most excellent.

Previous bloggee Martin Vala is the builder behind this ‘Shark’ Dakar concept, and fictional though it may be it looks so real we had to look it up to check it didn’t actually exist. Like a Sharknado Oscar though, it definitely doesn’t, which makes it all the more impressive that the design originated from the inside of Martin’s head.

There’s much more of the build to see at Martin’s ‘Shark T1+’ album on Flickr, and you can swim over via the link in the text above.

Mighty Mini

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This is the Mini JCW Dakar Buggy, and it has about as much in common with a Mini you can actually buy as a fish does with the international space station. But it is throughly awesome!

Powered by an I6 turbo-diesel, the RWD-only John Cooper Works buggy won the Dakar Rally in 2020 and 2021, and has been recreated in stunning detail by Flickr’s Martin Vala.

Removable bodywork, an internal space-frame, a complete brick-built drivetrain, and some superb photography and presentation make Martin’s build an excellent way to kick-off 2022.

Head to Martin’s ‘Mini JCW Buggy’ album via the link above for over forty stunning images.

BRX(mas)

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Desert travel before the steam or combustion engine was a slow and sometimes dangerous business. The wise men may have taken a very long time to reach the baby Jesus, with no thanks to meeting a megalomaniacal king on route.

Today desert crossing could even be considered easy, thanks to vehicles like this; the Prodrive BRX Hunter. A purpose built Dakar rally buggy, the BRX is designed specifically to cross the desert as quickly and easily as possible, thanks to carbon-fibre construction and a mid-mounted V6 engine.

Inspired by the BRX is Martin Vala’s ‘BX T1+’, a stunning desert-crossing buggy complete with gull-wing doors, a gold roll cage, and the best brick-built chassis we have ever seen.

Due to our Christmas break, The Brothers Brick beat us to posting this (it’s a Christmas miracle!), but the Elves are now back on their travels once again, so normal service should be resumed. And their search shouldn’t be delayed by any megalomaniacal kings.

There’s more to see of Martin’s incredible Prodrive BRX-inspired ‘BX T1+’ on Flickr by clicking here, and we’ll be back soon with more tenuous Lego-based links to Christmas!

Good Things Come in Small Packages

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Lego RC Rally Truck

This little 6-wide mini-figure scale rally truck by Flickr’s Big Boy may well have featured here at TLCB on looks alone, but it’s got a lot more going underneath than you might realise. Squeezed inside the diminutive dimensions is a full remote control drivetrain, plus working lights too. You can see more of this miracle of packaging, and watch a video of it in action, at the link in the text above.

America, F*** Yeah!

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Lego Hummer

This might be the most American post we’ve had here on The Lego Car Blog since the ThunderCougarFalconBird, a symbol of freedom and obesity; the Hummer. LegoMarat‘s excellent model recreates the car driven by American NASCAR racing hero Robby Gordon in the 2012 Dakar Rally, which was, er… disqualified.

The Dakar Rally is no longer held from Paris to Dakar due to the threat of terrorism in North Africa, and instead races through the deserts of Argentina and Chile, but retains its iconic name.

Curiously, Hummer may undergo a similar transformation. Following its collapse in the wake of the financial crisis (no tears were shed here at TLCB for that) the American icon may be sold to the Chinese. Hilariously, a communist Hummer is a real possibility.

And with American patriots now spitting coffee over the keyboards we’ll quietly depart with a bonus photo. If you want to see more you can check out all the images of LegoMarat’s work via Flickr at the link above.

Lego Hummer Robby Gordon