Dacia not only gives its models a certain outdoor spirit, but will also get really serious about off-road in the future: The Renault subsidiary wants to take part in the Dakar Rally and the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) from 2025. The Romanians have just presented the vehicle for this.
The Sandrider was designed specifically for rally use or for the regulations of the Ultimate T1+ category and is inspired by the Manifesto concept vehicle presented in 2022. The know-how is based on the wealth of motorsport experience of the Renault Group and the British racing and sports car specialist Prodrive. In the design of the desert specialist, which was created in-house, Dacia refers to the new brand philosophy in many places or draws parallels to the design of the road vehicles, for example by focuses on the essential needs of the driver and passenger. In this case, that means the hood is short and slanted so as not to obstruct the crew’s field of vision. The anti-reflection paint in the upper area of the instrument panel also optimizes visibility. Nothing on the Sandrider is superfluous, no decorative parts. Everything for the occupants – with patented thermal protection. The modular design of the dashboard allows the driver and front passenger to adapt the ergonomics and the arrangement of certain functions to their own needs. The Sabelt seats are upholstered with special antibacterial fabrics Quickly remove moisture to the outside. The spare wheels are not covered to make changing easier. The crew can also quickly access the on-board tools without having to open a box. A magnetic plate was integrated into the body to prevent the mounting bolts for the wheels from getting lost in the sand. To keep the temperature inside the Sandrider low, the designers integrated anti-infrared pigments directly into the vehicle’s carbon body panels . Dacia applied for a patent for this process. Particularly lightweight construction Dacia placed particular emphasis on lightweight construction in the design. The total weight of the 4.14 meter long and 2.29 meter wide Sandrider should be around 15 kilograms less than comparable prototypes. Dacia cites a lighter tubular frame chassis, the elimination of all unnecessary body parts and the use of carbon for a variety of other parts, such as the body. The Sandrider has a reinforced subframe and reinforced bumpers as well as a suspension with double wishbones and a particularly robust one All wheel drive. The 17-inch wheels with BF Goodrich tires have 35 cm of travel, which increases the overall height to 1.81 meters. In order to optimize traction and driving dynamics, the weight distribution between the front and rear axles is significantly more front-heavy. Particular attention was also paid to efficient aerodynamics in order to reduce fuel consumption and at the same time improve driving performance. The engineering teams want to have reduced air resistance by 10 percent and lift by 40 percent compared to comparable prototypes. V6 engine with synthetic fuel (eFuel) The Sandrider’s engine is a three-liter twin-turbo V6 gasoline engine that produces 360 hp and 4250 Touring provides a maximum torque of 539 Nm. The power is transmitted via a sequential six-speed gearbox. It is fueled with synthetic fuel supplied by Aramco. Dacia sees this as a simple and affordable solution to reduce its environmental impact. The synthetic fuels developed by Aramco combine hydrogen produced using renewable energy with captured CO2. The result is a lower carbon fuel suitable for modern engines. For Dacia, the Dakar Rally is the ideal testing ground for this technology. Motorsport premiere in October The Dacia Sandrider will initially complete a long series of tests in various countries. Its motorsport debut will then take place at the Rallye du Maroc 2024, the Moroccan round of the World Rally Raid Championship (W2RC) from October 5th to 11th, 2024. The Dacia Sandriders, the official W2RC team of Dacia, will take part in the for the first time in 2025 Dakar and the other rounds of the Rally Raid World Championship. The Dacia Sandriders bring together three crews: French rally driver Sébastien Loeb, 49, won the World Rally Championship nine times in a row between 2004 and 2012. This makes him the most successful driver in motorsport. Sébastien Loeb has been taking part in the Dakar since 2016. His co-driver is Fabian Lurquin. The 32-year-old Cristina Gutiérrez Herrero is a fixture in rally raid sport. The Spaniard has already taken part in eight Dakar Rally between 2017 and 2024. Cristina won the 2021 World Cup for marathon rallies, category T3. In January 2024, she became the second woman after Jutta Kleinschmidt to win a Dakar Rally in her class (Challenger class). Your co-driver will be Pablo Moreno Huete.Nasser Al-Attiyah is a five-time winner of the Cross-Country Rallies World Cup and a two-time winner of the Rally Raid World Championship. He is a true Dakar legend and has won this spectacular event five times. Nasser’s co-driver will be Mathieu Baumel.
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