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How cool is this? The Dacia Duster Ice Racer you see here will be raced by none other than four-time Formula One champ Alain Prost for the 09/10 Andros Trophy ice racing series.
That's right - it's a Dacia. Remember that name? Dacia is Renault's Lexus... hang on, that's wrong. Sorry, we're just so used to saying that these days. Dacia is actually Lexus's Toyota, but the French maker's budget brand is so popular in Continental Europe that there isn't the production capacity to send any to the UK. Yet.
The Duster mini SUV was first seen at March's Geneva show as a concept, but the fact it's racing in the French Alps with Prost suggests it'll be making production in Dacia's Romanian factory soon. Prost's car is powered by a mid-mounted 3.0-litre V6 with 350bhp and has most of its interior stripped out so it weighs less than a tonne. The gearbox is a six-speed sequential unit sending drive to all four wheels. The rumour mill suggests the production version will be slightly more anodyne - but we'll believe that when we see it.
Mark Nichol - 19 Nov 2009
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