How To Win The Dakar Classic 2021 – The Story Of The Sunhill Buggy

In 2021 for the first time ever there was a classic class in the Dakar Rally – allowing the iconic Paris Dakar vehicles of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s to once again take to the start line and battle it out against some of the toughest terrain, and competitors, in the world.

The Dakar Classic runs alongside the Dakar on a parallel course, vehicles do often share the start and finish line, and driver briefings are all done together each morning.

Once of the most unusual vehicles to take part in the inaugural Dakar Classic was the car you see here, it was originally built by Yves Sunhill and his crew in 1978 to take part in the first ever Paris Dakar Rally in 1979.

At the time Frenchman Yves Sunhill was traveling frequently to the United States where he became familiar with the heavily modified VW Beetles being used in off-road racing competition. He likely also saw some of the many Meyers Manx vehicles that were proving almost unstoppable in many desert races – these also shared VW Beetle underpinnings of course.

When Sunhill and his small team set about designing their own new racing buggy to take part in a new kind of desert race from Paris, France to Dakar, Morocco he took the lessons he had learned in the USA and modified them to suit this new race.

Sunhill Buggy was given a custom space frame chassis that offered excellent rigidity and protection for both the driver and co-driver. This was then mated to a modified front and rear end from a VW Beetle, a Beetle gearbox was also used however interestingly they didn’t use a VW engine – instead opting for an engine from a Renault 16.

Above Image: Watch the highlights of the 2021 Dakar including footage of the buggy shown here.

Though this engine choice may seem odd it was likely made for two reasons, firstly they had good access to performance parts and experts for the French engine, and secondly the Renault 16 engine is water-cooled and therefore may have been preferred for racing in the baking temperatures of the North African desert.

The Renault engine was rebuilt by engineers at Alpine specifically for motorsport use, they took the standard 1600cc inline-four and stroked it, a series of other modifications gave it a power output of 160 bhp – a marked increase from the original 61 bhp.

The central section of the car is covered in sheet steel, and the front and rear sections use fiberglass panels which were designed by Sunhill himself. As a designer he carefully developed the car and the seating position to give both the driver and co-driver excellent front and side visibility to better navigate unpredictable terrain.

For the inaugural 1979 Paris Dakar Rally Yves Sunhill set off with Jean-Paul Sevin and made a remarkably promising start. Unfortunately in Niger they suffered a cracked heat exchanger and were forced to retire.

The buggy would stay in Niger in the possession of a French expat resident, and it was shown at a number of events over the years celebrating the history of the race.

Above Image: It was a tight fit inside the Sunhill Buggy, hundreds of kilometers were covered like this each day.

Many years later the original buggy was acquired by Marc Douton who would drive the car alongside co-driver Emilien Etienne. The buggy was completely stripped and rebuilt in collaboration with Nantes Prestige Auto run by Jeremy Athimon specifically to compete in the 2021 Dakar Classic.

Douton and Etienne are no newcomers to the sport, Douton has been racing off-road since he was 10 and together the two men raced together in a Buggy Baboulin in 2016 before winning the Moroccan VW Africa Trophy in 2017 and 2019.

The buggy needed a complete restoration and a new engine, the frame also needed serious modifications as both the original occupants had been below 165cm in height, but Douton and Etienne are 176cm and 186cm respectively. This required modifying the frame elements under the floor to lower both seats safely, without needing to cut into the overhead sections of the roll cage.

The vehicle is now equipped with a 1,600cc VW Beetle engine that was modified for racing by BR Concept, it now has a swept capacity of 2,110cc and 130 bhp – the engine was built specifically to produce as much torque as possible through the entire rev-range.

Elsewhere the chassis was reinforced for added strength, the suspension was upgraded, and the safety equipment was brought up to 2021 standards.

Above Image: The Sunhill Buggy was well suited to the terrain, taking 7 of 12 stage wins and winning the overall event.

Both the driver and co-driver were fitted out with sunglasses and goggles by team sponsor Vallon, these were chosen because they fit the retro-theme of the Dakar Classic but they still provide full modern protection.

Back in 1979 Yves Sunhill and Jean-Paul Sevin had shown the potential of this vehicle, and in 2021 Marc Douton and Emilien Etienne would finish the story. They led the race from day one to the podium, winning 7 of the 12 stages, and winning the first Dakar Classic outright in a convincing fashion.

The plans for the future include modifying the buggy with electric motors and either batteries or a fuel cell, they plan to continue racing it extensively so we’ll doubtless be seeing it on the top step of the podium again.

If you’d like to read more about the Dakar Classic you can click here, and if you’d like to see Marc Douton and Emilien Etienne’s profile page you can click here.

Images courtesy of Dakar®

The post How To Win The Dakar Classic 2021 – The Story Of The Sunhill Buggy appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/dakar-classic-2021/
via gqrds

Holden Monaro GTS – Australia’s Answer To The Ford Mustang

This is an original, unrestored Holden Monaro GTS, it was Australia’s answer to the onslaught of American muscle cars in the 1960s like the Mustang and the Camaro, and it would arguably become Holden’s most loved car of all time.

The Monaro – Australia’s Pillarless Sports Coupe

The first Holden Monaro was released in 1968 and sold over three model iterations until 1971. The styling was influenced by American V8 coupes like the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro, however the Monaro was entirely unique and it quickly became one of the most desirable sports cars in the country.

The elegant design of the Monaro belied its capabilities on track, over the course of the late 1960s and early 1970s Holden Monaros would win a slew of important Australian races and championships including the Hardie-Ferodo 500 (now known as the Bathurst 1000) on two occasions and the 1970 Australian Touring Car Championship.

Interestingly the Monaro didn’t have a name for much of its development, hundreds of names were tossed around and the name “Torana” seemed like the final choice until Noel Bedford, member of Holden’s design team, discovered the name by accident while on a family road trip holiday.

Above Image: The styling of the Monaro was done 100% in-house at Holden, but it took some inspiration from similarly equipped American cars.

Bedford was driving through the town of Cooma in New South Wales in Australia’s east when he saw a road sign: “It said Monaro County Council in western-type lettering that reminded me of “Marlboro Country” and “Camaro”. It seemed to me so simple and logical. Why didn’t somebody think of it before? I was quite excited and couldn’t wait to get back to work.” – Noel Bedford

After he got back to the office and checked the trademark status of the name Holden held an impromptu board meeting and approved it.

The first generation Monaro would be built in three iterations, the Monaro HK, Monaro HT, and finally the Monaro HG. They all share the same body panels and look indistinguishable to the non-trained eye but there were a slew of changes made underneath and in the engine bay.

Initially you could buy a Monaro with a straight-six under the hood, you could opt for either a 5.0 litre (307 cubic inch) V8 or the top-of-the-line GTS model with a 327 cubic inch small-block Chevrolet V8. At this time Holden engineers were hard at work on their own V8 engine, this new engine was developed 100% in-house and it was intended to become the company’s flagship engine – which it was between 1969 and 2000.

In 1969 you could order your new Monaro with the new Holden V8, a 308 cubic inch (5.0 litre) 90º V8 with 16 push-rod actuated valves and cross-flow heads. This engine proved popular both because it was smaller and lighter than the 327 cubic inch Chevrolet V8 and because it would give its owners bragging rights as owners of a “100% Australian muscle car”.

Above Image: Original Monaros with the Australian 308 cubic inch V8 are highly sought after by collectors today.

Today these original first generation Holden Monaros are highly sought after in Australia, particularly the GTS V8 versions which had proven so successful on the race track.

The 1971 Holden Monaro GTS 308 Shown Here

The car you see here is an original GTS equipped with the Australian-developed 308 cubic inch V8. Unusually this car is also an unrestored survivor – a rare find nowadays as many of these early Monaros have been restored back to showroom condition but perhaps lack the character of a car in its original paint.

As a 308 V8 equipped GTS the car will have a great deal of appeal to many Australians, it’s fitted with the desirable Saginaw 4-speed manual transmission, and it has factory air-conditioning, power steering, and the side stripe delete option.

The car is finished in Electra Blue over a black and houndstooth interior, it’s still wearing the correct steel wheels, and it has just 16,660 miles on the odometer.

If you’d like to read more about this unusual piece of Australian history of register to bid you can click here, it’s currently being offered on Collecting Cars with approximately two days left on the bidding.

Images courtesy of Collecting Cars

The post Holden Monaro GTS – Australia’s Answer To The Ford Mustang appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/holden-monaro-gts/
via gqrds

The Tamiya FMC XR311 R/C – A Re-Release Of Tamiya’s First Off-Road Buggy From 1977

The unusual looking buggy you see here is historic two for reasons, firstly (the full scale version) was a prototype intended to replace the venerable Jeep, and secondly because the R/C version by Tamiya was the Japanese company’s first off-road buggy.

The reason why the folks at Tamiya choose this prototype as their first off-roader is interesting, and it’s possible that they took a gamble on this being the vehicle that was chosen to replace the Jeep – so they would have the brand new “Jeep” available as an R/C model.

The model is based on the FMC XR311, a prototype military vehicle that entered development in 1969. A number of development models were built and the military are known to have bought at least a dozen of them set up to perform various tasks.

The US military ordered a number of FMC XR311s for testing purposes and they could be configured to fulfill a multitude of roles including anti-tank, reconnaissance patrol, convoy escort, command and control, medivac, military police, mortar carrier, internal security and forward air defense communications vehicle.

Above Video: Footage of the Tamiya FMC XR311 being put through its paces.

The FMC XR311 likely had an influence on both the Lamborghini Cheetah and AM General’s HMMWV – better known as the Humvee and the vehicle that would eventually fill the role.

The XR311 had a rear-engine, four-wheel drive layout with power sent from the Chrysler V8 engine through a 3-speed TorqueFlite A727 automatic transmission and a single-speed full time transfer case.

These vehicles were tested extensively throughout the 1970s and they did look like a likely M151 Jeep replacement – likely enough that Tamiya created their model of it, the development of which likely started in the mid-1970s, before the FMC XR311 project was cancelled.

First released in 1977 the Tamiya FMC XR311 R/C is now largely unknown, and it’s certainly far less famous than the brand’s better-known off-roaders like the Tamiya Hornet. Tamiya recently brought the model back into full production for people who missed out the first time around.

Visit The Store

Above Image: An artist’s rendition of the original FMC XR311 vehicle.

The post The Tamiya FMC XR311 R/C – A Re-Release Of Tamiya’s First Off-Road Buggy From 1977 appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/tamiya-fmc-xr311-rc/
via gqrds

For Sale: A Restored Dodge M37 – A Tough Ex-Military 4×4 Pickup Truck

The Dodge M37 was developed as an improved version of the venerable Dodge WC Series 4×4 trucks from WWII. When engineers set to work designing the M37 they took everything that worked well on the WC trucks and redesigned anything that didn’t – resulting in a truck so tough that some of them remain in service to this day with civilian agencies in rural areas.

The Dodge WC 4×4 trucks were critically important vehicles during the war, they also introduced an entire generation of young men to four-wheel drive drivetrains and pickup trucks.

There’s no way of directly quantifying the influence this had on them, but we do know that in the years after WWII the popularity of both 4×4 vehicles and pickup trucks would skyrocket across the United States.

With the 3/4 Ton M37 Dodge were working to fulfill the needs of the US Military heading into the 1950s and 1960s. Although the earlier WC series trucks had been invaluable during the war there were some shortcomings that came to light, and Dodge worked to solve them all.

Above Image: The unmistakable profile of the M37, this truck carries all of its period-correct military markings.

Firstly, the width of the M37 was slightly less than that of the WC, and it was also a little shorter – giving it a lower profile. The original four-speed gearbox was replaced with a newer fully-syncromesh four-speed which made the truck much easier to drive for newly enlisted 18 year olds with limited time behind the wheel.

The M37 also used a sealed 24 volt electrical system, a waterproof ignition system, built-in deep water fording ability, much improved weather protection, and steel doors with roll-up glass windows were available on many variants.

The original inline-six cylinder gasoline engine from the WC series was modified for use in the Dodge M37. This engine was originally sourced from a 1930s era passenger car, however it had been through a series of modifications for use in trucks. Power was just 78 bhp at 3,200 rpm however the M37 was never intended to be quick, just tough and dependable.

Power was sent back through the four-speed transmission into a two-speed transfer case. The front axle could be disconnected to save fuel when four-wheel drive wasn’t needed, and the two-speed transfer case allowed for high and low range operation.

Above Image: Although still utilitarian, the interior of the M37 was a considerable improvement over its predecessors.

Over the course of the 1951 to 1968 production run Dodge would build over 115,000 examples of the M37. The trucks were deployed to the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and they played a role in a series of other conflicts including the Laotian Civil War, the Nicaraguan Revolution, the Cambodian Civil War, the Salvadoran Civil War, and the Guatemalan Civil War.

Once they were slowly retired from service many were sold into civilian hands, and today they’re seeing a surge in popularity along with many other vintage 4x4s.

The 1953 Dodge M37 you see here has been given a full frame-off restoration, it was resprayed with period-correct military markings and numbers, and it’s fitted with the correct information plates. It carries the correct field tools on the tailgate and it’s sitting on 9×16 non-directional military issue tires.

Inside you’ll find a reupholstered interior, there’s a multi-purpose box on the floor, and the steering wheel and other plastic items are in excellent condition.

If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing on Mecum, it’s due to roll across the auction block in March.

Images courtesy of Mecum

The post For Sale: A Restored Dodge M37 – A Tough Ex-Military 4×4 Pickup Truck appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/dodge-m37-truck/
via gqrds

The Two Wheeled Jeep – A Custom Yamaha TW125 From Portugal

This Yamaha TW125 was completely rebuilt by classic car restorer Manuel Vieira, his goal was to build the perfect long-range off-roader with a fuel efficient 125cc engine, a large capacity fuel tank, and ample space for carrying supplies.

Vieira is based in Vila Nova de Gaia, about 10 kms from Oporto in Portugal. He has been a production manager in the textile industry until the industry collapsed during the Great Recession, after leaving the textile world he turned to his true passion – restoring classic cars.

Over the past decade Vieira has made a name for himself bringing vintage cars back to life, but what many people don’t know about him is that he’s pretty handy at building motorcycles too – in fact the first project he ever embarked upon was building a sidecar for his bicycle when he was 12 years old.

The first motorcycle he developed was a modified trials bike for his 7 year old son, who rode it to a win in a Portuguese Trial Championship. When he works Vieira uses old school techniques, there’s no CAD software or 3D printers used at any part of the process, he painstakingly creates each part by hand to match what he sees in his head, and then moves onto the next part.

The bike you see here started life as a standard Yamaha TW125, it was bought from a previous owner who lived on the Azorean islands off the Portuguese coast. Initially it was modified for flat track racing however at some point the engine blew, relegating the bike back to the workshop.

Above Image: With its ample luggage space and attached trailer this bike is capable of extended periods of travel off the grid.

Due to the proliferation of scramblers within the modern custom motorcycle scene, and the increasing number of scramblers being made by manufacturers, Vieira decided to create his own version of this 70+ year old motorcycle type.

Rather than creating the kind of scrambler that never sees the dirt and spends much of its life parked outside popular cafes, Vieira decided to create a genuinely capable two-wheeled Jeep. Just as with the original Willys Jeep from WW2 engine power would not be a major concern, rather it was decided to focus on giving the bike excellent trail riding ability and long-range.

The project began with a full teardown, the engine obviously needed a full rebuild and a new piston which it received, the frame was stripped and repainted, and it received a new subframe.

A luggage rack was added to above the front fender, this was paired with a luggage rack over the rear fender, and an all-new trailer was built allowing the bike to carry everything a person might need for long periods of time away from civilization.

The most challenging aspect of the build was creating the new higher-capacity fuel tank. Vieira carefully shaped it from foam initially with great care taken to get it symmetrical – no mean feat. A new intake system was devised to keep water out of the engine, an alloy tube now runs from the intake up to just behind the seat, and it’s capped with a washable foam filter.

Above Image: The shovel-sump-guard keeps the delicate underbelly of the engine safe from rocks, plus it’s easy to remove and replace if needed.

Once the mould had been created the tank was laid up using fiberglass, and a matching rear fender was created using the same material with an old motocross fender used as a mould.

The was was fitted with twin LED headlights to ensure trails would be well lit at night, it has a small windscreen, a flag for improved visibility, and perhaps best of all, a shovel has been used as the under sump bash plate.

The completed bike is ideal for weekends away or for the occasional zombie apocalypse, it’s been named “Jumatsu TransWorld” and it won’t be the first such creation rolling out of this Portuguese garage.

Manuel Vieira doesn’t yet have a website or a social media presence, however we’ll be staying in touch with him and bringing you his new builds as they’re completed.

Images: Manuel Vieira

The post The Two Wheeled Jeep – A Custom Yamaha TW125 From Portugal appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/custom-yamaha-tw125/
via gqrds

Rod Stewart’s Lamborghini Countach LP400 “Periscopio” Is For Sale

All surviving examples of the Lamborghini Countach LP400 “Periscopio” are valuable, just 157 were made and today they’re seen as among the purest expressions of Marcello Gandini’s original design.

This car is perhaps a little more special than most because of its first owner, British rock ‘n roll legend and pronounced Lamborghini aficionado Rod Stewart.

Interestingly, Stewart bought this car on a whim while touring Australia. It left the factory in May of 1977 in right-hand drive configuration with Rosso paintwork over a tobacco interior, and it was imported into Australia for delivery to the country’s Lamborghini concessionaire, Tony De Fina.

By this time Rod Stewart was already well-known for his love of Lamborghinis – he had previously owned three Miuras. After buying the car you see here he parked it in the Sydney recording studio he was using for the album Blondes Have More Fun, and there are photographs from this era showing the car in the studio.

After recording was completed he had the car flown air freight back to his home in Los Angeles where it was road registered. As a Brit, Stewart was more than comfortable driving a right-hand drive car, however it likely presented some challenges in the United States.

Lamborghini Countach LP400 “Periscopio” – Specifications

LP400 was the model designation used for the first version of the Countach, unlike the Miura it was powered by a longitudinally mounted engine and unusually, the transmission was mounted to the front of the engine almost between the driver and passenger.

Above Image: The clean lines of the early Countach were largely lost on later cars which were fitted with a number of body modifications including wider wheel arches and wings.

The “LP” nomenclature stands for “Longitudinale Posteriore”, due to the fact that the engine is mounted longitudinally in the posterior, or rear of the car.

The clean Bertone-wedge styling was at its most pure on the LP400 with future versions being fitted with various body additions that significantly changed the car’s styling.

The LP400 Countach is powered by a 375 bhp V12 producing 266 lb ft of torque at 5,000 rpm. Induction is via carburetors and the engine has a compression ratio of 10.5:1.

Performance specifications were remarkable by the standards of the era, the Countach could do the 0 to 62 mph dash in 5.4 seconds, on to a top speed of 192 mph or 309 km/h.

Rod Stewart’s Countach – The Modifications

Over the course of his life Rod Stewart has owned several examples of the Countach, this car was his first and over the years he had it modified several times to keep pace with the changes being made at Lamborghini to new iterations of the Countach.

These changes would become increasingly extreme over time, initially the car had wide Gotti wheels fitted and a mini spoiler mounted behind the air boxes, later it was given a full wide body conversion to emulate the Countach LP400 S with Campagnolo “Teledial” wheels.

Above Image: The channel cut into the roof with the small letter box opening was to allow the rear vision mirror a view behind the car. This is why the model was nicknamed the “Periscopio” or “Periscope.”

This wasn’t the limit to the work done on the car, 1984 Albert Mardikian Engineering converted the car to their own “SS” specification. This conversion included changing the car into an open-top targa configuration and a full width rear wing was fitted.

Stewart would later ship the car back to Britain and road register it there, he would end up keeping it until 2002 which is perhaps a good indication of how much it meant to him.

The second owner of the car would keep it in its modified form and modify it further, by changing it to right-hand drive. It was then acquired by its third and current owner in 2013 who made the decision to have the car returned back to its factory-original condition with just one exception.

The team at Battaglia e Bolognesi of Ferrara restored the body back to original specification, Top Motors of Nonatola took care of the engine and drivetrain rebuild, and Bruno Paratelli took care of the upholstery.

The only non-factory modification that was left was the switch from right to left-hand drive – which was kept to make the car more practical in left-hand drive countries.

With the restoration now complete the car looks just as it did when Rod Stewart saw it on the Sydney showroom floor all those years ago. It’s now due to cross the auction block with RM Sotheby’s on the 13th of February with a price estimate of €750,000 to €900,000.

If you’d like to read more about the car or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.

Images: Remi Dargegen ©2020 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

 

The post Rod Stewart’s Lamborghini Countach LP400 “Periscopio” Is For Sale appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/lamborghini-countach-periscopio/
via gqrds