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Dacia Duster

Dacia Duster “No Limit” – Click above for high-res image gallery

Dacia sends its racing team out in winters to drift across ice and snow for the Andros Trophy. But when the summer rolls around, even the snow on the French Alps begins to thaw. What’s an ice racing team to do? Why, head to Pikes Peak, of course.

The international hill climb event is coming around again next month, and when it does, the likes of Monster Tajima and Rhys Millen will have an interesting new challenger on its hands. And after months of reports and teasers, you’re looking at the finish product.

A joint effort between Dacia, Renaultsport, a number of independent firms and driver Jean-Phillipe Dayraut who brought them all together, the Dacia Duster “No Limit” was built for the Unlimited class at Pikes Peak, where (contrary to just about any other form of motorsport) there are essentially no restrictions placed on a car’s specifications. As a result, the purpose-built racer packs the twin-turbo 3.8-liter V6 from a Nissan GT-R (tuned to 850 horsepower), which is mounted amidships behind the cabin and mated to a six-speed sequential racing gearbox. All of that mechanical chutzpah is kept down by the most aggressive aerodynamics package this side of an F-35 Lightning.

It’s a beast of a car, and we can’t wait to see Dayraut – the reigning three-time Andros Trophy champion – take its wheel at the Peak on June 26. In the meantime, check out the extensive high-res image gallery for a closer look and follow the jump for the full press release.

Continue reading Dacia unleashes 850-hp GT-R-powered Duster “No Limit” Pikes Peak challenger

Dacia unleashes 850-hp GT-R-powered Duster “No Limit” Pikes Peak challenger originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 27 May 2011 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Recalls, Electric

Even though U.S. production of the Think City started off well the other day, all is not fine in Think land. The company is recalling 850 City cars throughout Europe because the brakes on the electric car can weaken under “extremely humid conditions.”

A Think representative told AutoblogGreen, “Major, prolonged exposure to water could cause a small malfunction in the electronics. The brakes would still work, but required increased pressure to use.” This problem could appear in instances of severe rain or after intense car washes. James Andrew of Think Europe tells NRK (Google Translated) that the repair includes wrapping the pump circuit in an epoxy, which “solves the problem fully.” Importantly, new models are not affected. We’ve driven the City in wet conditions and have never experienced this problem.

There are also stories floating around that say that Think has not provided City vehicles to the European crash testing organization EuroNCAP, like this one on VG Net (Google Translated). EuroNCAP needs three vehicles to crash, but VG Net reports that Think reportedly said it could not spare the vehicles. In fact, Think told AutoblogGreen, it will send vehicles to EuroNCAP in early 2011, adding, “We are of course supplying the vehicles. There is no story there.”

[Source: NRK, VG Net (both Google Translated), Think]

Think recalling 850 City EVs over braking issue in “extremely” wet conditions originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Dec 2010 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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