The new Range Rover Evoque, a competitor to the BMW X3, will enter the Dakar Rally with a 3.0 liter turbocharged straight-six diesel engine from BMW.
With more than 9,000 km in 14 days and through extremely demanding conditions, the Dakar Rally is one of the most challenging motorsport competition in the entire world. Every year hundreds of competitors strive not just for the championship crown, but also for a lifetime opportunity to test themselves and the vehicles in some of the most challenging racing environments.
The British Excite Rally Raid Team will race three cars commissioned by RaBe Race Cars and driven by an all-British line-up consisting of Martin Rowe, Andrew Coley and John Hardy. Their T3 race car’s body shell is based on the new Range Rover Evoque.
Along with the BMW diesel engine that produces 275 horsepower and 479 lb-ft of torque, the British team will use the ZF 6-speed transmission to transfer power to the wheel that are dressed in BF Goodrich desert tires.
“We’ve been working on this project for a long time”, said the team’s business manager David Jones. “We were approached by a manufacturer, RaBe Race Cars, whose staff has been around the sport for a long time. Seeing our professional approach, they asked if we could work together. We have goals we can assist each other with, so we have now set our sights a bit higher.”
The 2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque will enter the Dakar Rally in 2013, which takes place in South America.
