For much of its existence, the SsangYong brand
hasn’t exactly been known for making attractive cars. In recent years, however, the
Korean brand’s cars have started to improve styling-wise, even though there’s
still work to do. If the brand’s latest concept cars are any indication of
things to come, it’s safe to say SsangYong is on the right track.
Meet the Rexton DKR, SsangYong’s entry in the 2019
Dakar Rally (January 6-17). It has nothing in common with the road-going Rexton
other than the name and the headlights. Coincidence or not, it’s the coolest
SsangYong we’ve seen in ages.
The Rexton DKR will try to keep SsangYong’s
reputation for building rugged SUVs intact and maybe improve it by finishing
the world’s toughest rally in the first 20 overall. To achieve that, it’s built
to be strong, fast and light.
Developed by SsangYong Motorsport in Spain, the
Rexton DKR uses a dune buggy body style that gives it good attack angle and
aerodynamics. The body is mounted on a multi-tubular chassis made from
chrome-molybdenum and TIG welded for good torsional stiffness.
SsangYong says it’s agile and easy to handle thanks
to a curb weight of less than 1,900 kg, a Torsen self-locking
differential, as well as a double-arm suspension with King shock absorbers and
helical extension springs.
Competing in the T1-3 class for two-wheel-drive
gasoline cars, the Rexton DKR is rear-wheel drive and motivated by a
mid-mounted 458 hp V8 race engine. Mated to a six-speed Sadev SL90-22
sequential manual gearbox, the engine allows the Rexton DKR to cover the 0-100
km/h sprint in 4.4 seconds and reach a top speed of 195 km/h.
Stopping power is provided by AP brakes with “good
heat dissipation and resistance to fade.” Finally, the Rexton DKR features
17-inch Yokohama Geolandar off-road tires that can be self-inflated from the
cockpit. The car will be driven by Spanish driver Óscar Fuertes with Diego
Vallejo as co-driver. SsangYong wants to improve on last year’s result when the same team
finished 32nd overall in the Tivoli DKR.
