The new Prodrive Hunter is a high-performance off-roader derived from the Bahrain Raid X racing car that has participated in the Dakar Rally.
As a result of Prodrive’s more than 40 years of experience in the world of off-road competition, the British company has created what we could call the definitive off-roader. It’s called the Prodrive Hunter and it’s a vehicle derived from the Bahrain Raid X racing car that participated this year in the Dakar Rally with Sebastien Loeb at the controls.
According to the manufacturer, the Hunter “is even more extreme than the one piloted by Loeb, with a 50% increase in power from the 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 engine and more suspension travel to absorb the roughest terrain.” The exterior design is the work of famed car designer Ian Callum, the author of many of Jaguar’s models.
Prodrive Hunter: the ultimate drift off-roader from the Dakar Rally
The Prodrive Hunter still retains the engine, transmission and suspension of the competition model that has participated in the Dakar, but, with the aim of improving driving ease, the manual sequential gearbox has been replaced by an automatic transmission of six speeds with paddles behind the wheel and an all-wheel drive system with three differentials.
Power comes from a 3.5-litre twin-turbocharged V6 engine that Prodrive has been fine-tuning and refining at the Banbury (UK) test bench to produce over 600bhp of power and 700Nm of peak torque. This allows registering a 0 to 100 km/h in less than four seconds and a maximum speed of 300 km/h.
The Hunter is built around a special high-strength steel frame chassis where an FIA-approved standard roll cage has been integrated. Full double wishbone suspension with dual adjustable shock absorbers has 400mm of travel.
It also integrates six-piston competition brake calipers and ventilated discs for better braking performance both in and out of the race. The set rests on wheels with custom 35-inch off-road tires.
The Prodrive Hunter integrates everything you need, such as a body designed by Ian Callum, the interior designed for daily use in competition, with a digital screen that provides the driver with all the key information, carbon fiber seats, safety harness of six points and a lightweight lithium-ion battery, and a 480-liter fuel cell.
Prodrive has announced a selling price for the Hunter off-roader of 1.25 million pounds (1.48 million euros) plus taxes.
