Japanese Team ACP took a new Prius to the Sahara Desert - Autoblog the team mostly kept the Prius Prime on the asphalt, and they did have a Land Cruiser as a support vehicle. But still, they (sometimes literally) pushed the Prius to places it was perhaps never designed to go to, yet it made it to its Dakar destination in one piece. And some of the car's features definitely came in handy, as the crew was able to use the Prius as a power source to heat up food and tea-making water.
Amazing. I assume that the Prime spent virtually all of the trip in HV mode keeping the traction battery available for making tea. Probably not a lot of ChargePoint locations in the dessert. Love the photos... Thanks for posting the link!!
Hmmm, good catch David. As I (slowly) read the story again, they never say anything about actually competing in a race, just that they completed the "adventure". I'll see if I can still edit the title.
The race is indeed now run in South America - mostly in Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru. I guess this was just a publicity stunt to be able to say a Prius Prime went from Paris to Dakar. It does say they mostly stayed on paved roads, the real race spends many miles off-road.
Mostly on paved roads... but not entirely: And some of the "off-road" experiences were more challenging than others: It is still worth the "bragging rights" for sure!
This March 27, 2018 BBC story explains: A Toyota Prius Prime has driven from Paris to Dakar Plucky plug-in hybrid crosses the Sahara on a 4,350-mile adventure across Africa If you’re anything like us, the first things that spring to mind when the two words ‘Paris’ and ‘Dakar’ are uttered in conjunction are flame-spitting Peugeot 405 T16s and Rothmans-liveried Porsche 959s smashing across the desert during the infamous Dakar Rally. Well, here’s something to twist your melon, man. As a Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid has just completed a 4,350-mile adventure across Africa from Paris to Dakar to prove you don’t need thirsty V8s and acres of suspension travel to complete such a trip. It wasn’t an Uber driver that got horrendously lost, either. Rather, a team of plucky Japanese car enthusiasts called Team ACP. They formed in 1979 as they wanted to have a crack at the famous race and instantly got hooked, ending up competing in the Paris-Dakar annually for the next 12 years. But, this year, Team ACP wanted to retrace the original route that they first took almost 40 years ago, so pulled the plug out of the Prius and set off from Paris in March 2018 destined for Dakar with a Land Cruiser in support. The original Dakar rally began in 1977 when a French bloke called Thierry Sabine got lost on his motorbike in the Libyan desert during the Abidjan-Nice Rally. Stumped for a way home, he waited to be rescued. Something that turned out to be an enlightening event, as he then dreamt of a coming back again – this time getting less lost – and venturing through on a 5,500-mile trek across Africa in a quest for human discovery. Sounds a bit late ’70s hippie fantasy, doesn’t it? But the next year, he and few mates did indeed compete in the first event, and from then on it’s become an annual celebration that’s grown in scale, ambition and worldwide viewership. Confusingly, the Dakar Rally doesn’t actually take place anywhere near Dakar now. Racing cars off-road around that part of the world got a little bit sketchy post-millennia so it now takes place in South America. But that didn’t stop Team ACP who, having crossed the Sahara and many camels, arrived in Dakar recently. Whether they’ll use the Prius as an Uber there is still yet to be known. But Team ACP, we doff our caps to you – what a trip. -- Rowan Horncastle ##
@Prius Team I don't know how your marketing team would find this appealing but an adapter would be awesome for camping or during hurricane season.
I wonder how they avoided getting shot by the "bad guys"?? Oh, I know. No cargo jets and helicopters to attract attention, no convoys of 100s of vehicles to attract attention. No roaring non-stock vehicles going at ridiculous speeds to attract attention.
And I refer you to a nearly 10 year old video clip lol. NSFW language. "You bought a Prius?!?" "I bought 7 of them. Got my whole crew riding around in them. Good for sneaking up on motherf*"
^ Hadn't seen that before. And now, they're even more quiet, for sneaking up on anyone. Except for that stupid low speed noise maker thingy.
It's the version with roof solar panel, too. I imagine that that was handy in the desert, the sun is shining there...
