British motorsport and advanced engineering group Prodrive has unveiled a 447kW, four-wheel drive all-terrain adventure vehicle.

Based on one of its Dakar Rally cars, the road-going Prodrive Hunter is an incredible-looking machine and offers even more power than its racing predecessor.

The Hunter retains the Dakar competition car’s engine, drivetrain and suspension, but to improve driveability, the manual sequential gear box has been replaced by a six-speed paddle shift.

As there are no competition regulations to be complied with, the Hunter’s power has been increased by more than 50 per cent, and the 3.5-litre twin turbo V6 engine has been refined and retuned to produce over 447kW and 700 Nm of torque.

Prodrive estimates that this gives a 0-100km/h time of less than four seconds and a top speed of nearly 300km/h. However, the vehicle is fitted with bespoke, 35-inch off-road tyres designed to optimise grip over rough terrain and sand rather than on tarmac.

The whole car is built around a high tensile steel space-frame chassis, and there’s also an FIA standard safety cage.
The all-round double wishbone suspension with twin adjustable dampers on each corner has 400mm of travel, and there are six-pot racing brake calipers and vented discs all round.

The whole vehicle has been designed to minimise overall weight and optimise the weight distribution and centre of gravity. All the bodywork is made from lightweight carbon composite, which includes recycled materials.

Prodrive says the first development vehicle is currently in the Middle East where customers are being offered the opportunity of driving the Hunter and confirming their personal specification for production vehicles to be delivered later this year.

Source: Motor Trader e-Magazine (April 2022) 

18 April 2022