1981 Range Rover: A Country 4x4 Took On the Desert Specials and Won the Dakar Rally

Every night of the 1981 Paris to Dakar, Rene Metge took the experimental five speed gearbox out of his Range Rover and rebuilt it by hand. Around him were purpose built buggies, Lada Nivas and a Rolls-Royce running on a Chevrolet V8. I start with the Range Rover that went on display at the Louvre in 1971, then the near standard car that was first home on the very first Dakar, Volkswagen's four Iltis entries in 1980, and the Schuler five speed that Metge gambled on. Then the race itself, from the stages to Gao to the twentieth of January in Dakar, and the surprising day job of the man holding the compass. #ClassicCarArchives #RangeRover #DakarRally Would you have crossed the Sahara in Metge's Range Rover or the Rolls-Royce? Tell me in the comments. I go through every single one.