It’s a corollary that people will soon tire of SUVs that promise a fine balance between sports car performance and off-road prowess – outside the world of WRC there has never been a vehicle that is genuinely capable of offering the best of these two opposing worlds; but the former rally champions Jimmy McRae and his son Alistair, along with the chaps at MDV engineering, plan to meet that challenge with a production car based on its Enduro rally car.
content here
The team behind the McRae Enduro cross-country rally car has decided to make a production-viable version within the next three years, which will be dubbed the SSUV or Super Sports Utility Vehicle.
The concept of the Enduro first emerged back in July with the brief of offering an affordable option for newcomers to cross-country rallying- that’s if you consider close to R1 million affordable. For that money, however, you’d be presented with a car that meets with the FIA’s strict T1 regulations. Basically, the vehicle would be eligible for Baja-type events (forming the basis of an upcoming one-make rally series next year) and even the likes of the Dakar Rally.
The Enduro, upon which the SSUV will be heavily based, will feature a tubular space-frame chassis and will be powered by a Jaguar-sourced 2,7-litre V6 turbodiesel. This relatively lightweight (read 200kg) powerplant will be tuned by Roush to develop around 180 kW and a colossal 520 N.m of torque. This powerplant will be mated with a six-speed manual ZF gearbox with limited-slip rear and center differentials.
The picture of the read car puts forward an idea of what it’s developers call “the world’s first fully-fledged sports car for off-roading.”
The SSUV will adopt a 2+2 seating format, feature full time four-wheel drive, and will share many of its underpinnings with the Enduro. Power will initially come from the aforementioned turbodiesel, but petrol units are being considered. A kerb weight of around 1 550kg and outputs of 260 kW and 745 N.m of torque have been quoted by project members.
Although the firm is still searching for a production partner to facilitate high-volume manufacture, Enduro engineer Barry Reynolds is confident that the Enduro will translate well into a production car and hopes to have a prototype on the road within a year.
”We’ve done 10 000km of development on the Enduro to date, said Reynolds. “Nearly 30 customers have already driven it, and most agree that it’s unusually quiet, comfortable and civilised for a competition rally car.”
“We’re pretty sure that, by adding some sound-proofing and a proper cabin, and by altering the packaging slightly, we can turn the Enduro into a production-feasible sports car,” he added.
The McRaes hope to build the SSUV in volume and at a price considerably undercutting that of the Enduro. The SSUV will target developing markets such as Russia, China and the Middle East, where there are many dirt roads. Hopefully someone here will make it their duty to introduce the McRae team to our plentiful dirt roads and love of rallying…
