	With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine...

The FAQ

What the <insert colourful adjective here> is it?

Briefly, it's a Range Rover with a different body on, although mine was built on top of a Discovery (they share the same chassis, so it's near enough the same thing). As such it's lighter, can be fitted with much bigger tyres and looses quite a few pounds in the process (mainly due to the truncating of the chassis and GRP body shell) making it far more agile than the base vehicle ever could be.

Did you build it yourself?

No - and who actually did is still a mystery! Having talked with the previous owner, it's known that it used to be a Rally Ambulance (it still carries it's RAC 'Crown Exempt' license disc - it was unit number 146) owned and operated by Northern Paramedical Services. Before that, it was painted in a bright red / yellow / luminous orange colour scheme (complete with roof-mounted blue strobe bar!), parts of which can be seen where the present white colour has flaked off. See this page for more info...

Now I'm sure I've seen one of these before...

Almost certainly it would have been on the BBC's "Challenge Anneka". Unfortunately, the real Anneka Dakar was destroyed in an arson attack on the farm where it was living out it's retirement. For more information on this story, please see the D.O.D.O. news page

I bet that doesn't do many to the gallon!

Inevitably stated by the Golf TDi owner as they smugly fill up at the adjacent pump with &gbp;3.24's worth of diesel and proceed to drive half way round the planet. I've yet to do any proper testing of fuel consumption, but as ever it depends how "enthusiastically" you drive. General consumption seems to vary from as much as 25MPG (probably a little ambitious!) on a motorway run to as little as 12 when you're wedged in town traffic. As I say, not exactly scientific - I'll update the figures once I have a proper estimate!

How old is it?

Again, pass - it was registered in 1992 under its present mark (Q498 SDS) but as to the age and origin of its various parts, I'm afraid I don't have a clue. Some bits look like they came from the parts bin of a salvage company or similar as they're marked with white marker saying "Disco 1990 RHD" etc., so I'd guess no older than 1989-90 (around the time of the Discovery's introduction).

Don't you get stopped by the police a lot?

Touch wood - not once yet! They do tend to raise their eyebrows and look at you in the 'I'm watching you, meladdo' type of way all policemen seem to be able to do, though :-)

What happens when it rains? (Asked when the roof and doors are off)

You get wet. Duhh...

Don't you get people looking at you?

Err - yeah - it's unlike anything else on the road! The most amusing incident to date involved a kid of about ten on a scooter - he spotted the Dakar as it drove past and tried to twist round so far he fell off!

How fast is it?

The Dakar isn't a sports car (far from it!) but it certainly isn't slow - a rough guestimate is 0-60 in around 10 seconds. Not TVR-quick, but certainly enough to put the boom-boy Nova boy-racers in their place at the lights :-) Mine simply has a stock 3.9 Rover V8 powering it, however you do have to remember that during the conversion from a Range Rover it looses nearly a half-ton in weight! Another Dakar is quite capable of Scooby-baiting, though: Eliot Mansfield's Dakar is driven by a twin-turbocharged Chevy-V8! His web site, which is well worth a read and absolutely packed with pictures, invaluable tips and technical info, is here...

Isn't it difficult to look after?

No, not really! Because it's based on a Discovery / Range Rover, it has exactly the same servicing requirements. As we've had Land Rovers in the family for years, it's no different to what we're used to! Fluid changes start to add up, though: eight litres of engine oil, eleven litres of ATF for the transmission, another two for the power steering, eight litres of antifreeze...

This page was last updated: 5^th May 2006 at 1:30pm BST