40 years in the past, racing driver Jacky Ickx and his co-driver, actor Claude Brasseur gained the 1983 Paris-Dakar Rally (world’s hardest rally) with the Mercedes-Benz 280 GE. The undertaking was managed by Mercedes Benz France and engineers of the corporate from Germany assisted with the engine and aerodynamics of the automobile.
The race happened within the early morning of 1st January 1983 on the Place De La Concorde in paris, after round 20 excessive each day phases by deserts such because the Tenere within the south of the Sahara and within the north of the Niger, the individuals reached the town of Dakar on the Atlantic Coast. Moreover, the individuals within the automotive, bike and truck classifications lined between 10,000 to 12,000 kilometres to succeed in the end line.
Paris-Dakar rally has attracted automotive producers to compete within the African Desert since its early years. The journey was based and organised by a former automotive and bike racer Thierry Sabine who handed away in January 1986 in a helicopter crash. The occasion continues to today, its title was modified to Dakar Rally and at the moment takes place within the desert areas of Saudi Arabia. The Dakar Rally was beforehand held in South America from 2009 to 2019.
The Mercedes Benz 280 GE is powered by a twin-cam six-cylinder M 110 engine. The usual model of the M 110 engine delivers an output energy of 185 hp however the ‘Paris-Dakar’ engine was upgraded to ship an output energy of 197 hp and attain a prime pace of 175 km/h which is 25 km/h quicker than the usual variant.
Among the many first ten autos to cross the Paris-Dakar end line have been two extra 280 GEs and a Mercedes Benz prototype. Throughout the competitors, many individuals dropped out as a result of technical points, accidents, crushes or sheer exhaustion. Solely 61 automobiles and vans and 28 motorbikes made it to the end line. Additional Mercedes-Benz G fashions completed in fifth, sixth and eighth place and the model additionally celebrated a double victory with a Mercedes Benz 1936 AK all-wheel drive truck ( 355 hp) as the most effective truck.