Renault has officially unveiled their contender for this year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb : the purpose-built 850hp prototype, Dacia Duster ‘No Limit’. Three-time Trophee Andros champion Jean-Philippe Dayraut will drive this one-ff vehicle on June 26 in Colorado, USA, and according to the French automaker, his target is to go for the win.
Developed by Tork Engineering and and Sodemo, in collaboration with Renault Sport Technologies, the Dacia Duster No Limit is in compliance with Pikes Peak’s Unlimited class regulations, which basically say there is no upper limit for size or power output, not minimum weight, no transmission or aerodynamics restrictions and the car can use any type of tyres.
Fitted with a 3.8-litre V6 engine based on the NISSAN VR 38 DETT block (the same in the Nissan GT-R), the Dacia Duster No Limit will spin its wheels via a sequential six-speed Sadev box which was specially adapted to cope with the massive amount of power.
The car uses advanced aerodynamics, at is was developed in the wind tunnel and its outer body is made from glass-fibre in order to keep the weight down.
Jean-Philippe Dayrautsaid that "The Pikes Peak Hill Climb is the only event where you get to keep a
monster like this in check while drifting at speeds of 200kph on a
course which features a mix of asphalt and dirt," "I can’t think of any other form of motorsport where such cars are authorised."
His mission will be to beat the current ‘Unlimited’ class record of 10m 1.42s established by Tajima Nobuhiro in 2007.
