Prodrive Hunter T1, the first Dakar Specific Rally Car to make Debut with its First Road-Specific Car

Imagine driving a Dakar Rally car on roads. Wild, isn’t it? Well, Prodrive Hunter T1 is coming with its on-road variant, where motorheads can experience the Dakar Specific vehicle, driving on common roads.

The foremost road-going version of Prodrive’s newest Bahraini-backed Dakar Rally vehicle, the BRX Hunter T1, has been unveiled. The first road car, created for Bahrain’s Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, is the first of a batch of 25 road-going T1s that will be built at Prodrive’s Banbury headquarters over the following two years, with each car starting at £1.25 million (about Rs 12.5 crore) before local taxes.

David Richards, Prodrive’s chairman claims the car as the “Ferrari of the deserts.” According to him, this is the fastest, cross-country car in the world.

Even if there are dozens of variations, the strong link between the road and rally versions is clear. Both cars have a body created by Ian Callum, who is currently located near Prodrive’s Banbury headquarters. The T1 is 4,600mm long and 2,300mm wide, with an aerodynamically focused fastback form and a high wing over the rear windshield to create downforce, yet it is at least 100mm shorter than its rally sister, standing at 1,850mm.

The road vehicle is built on the same tubular steel spaceframe chassis as the three-team cars racing in Dakar this year. The 2022 T1s are similar to the 2021 models but are significantly updated, and the road car adheres to the most recent standard. They feature substantially larger tyres, with a 38-inch diameter on a 17-inch wheel, which should help avoid the scores of punctures that plagued last year’s campaign. A spare tyre may be stored in the side-pod ahead of each rear wheel.

All versions have Prodrive’s ultra-long-travel twin-shock coil suspension in the front and rear, as well as air jacks for quick tyre changes – a must in desert driving where help isn’t always available.

The T1’s engine is a dry-sumped 3.5-litre twin-turbocharged Ford V6 re-built and tweaked by Prodrive with custom engine control systems.

The T1 is a front-engined aircraft with a position so near to central that the engine cover protrudes half a metre into the cockpit. The road vehicle is said to have a power output of around 600 horsepower, which is roughly 200 horsepower more than the FIA regulations allow for pure rally cars, and torque of over 700 Nm. Although both engines redline at 6,500 rpm, the rally car’s shift lights are set to 5,500 rpm as torque drops above that. The automobile includes permanent four-wheel drive and a six-speed paddle shifter gearbox.

The company estimates that it will take fewer than four seconds to accelerate from zero to 100 kilometres per hour, with a peak speed of approximately 300 kilometres per hour.

Well, we are super excited to witness Prodrive roaring through the roads, putting everyone in awe with its sheer-raw power.