Hello everyone, this is my first post!
A couple of friends and I are going to do the Budapest to Bamako in 2012 to raise money for Help for Heroes (a charity that helps soldiers who have been injured in overseas campaigns). We want to take two three-man groups, and the rally goes from Hungary to Mali over two weeks and 9,100 kilometers. Some of the guys are serving in Afghanistan now, so I'm handling the research until they get back. Could anybody give me any tips as to what we need to do to the vehicles? Although it's not as hardcore as something like the Dakar, this race covers some pretty tough terrain and there are certain stages that nobody would want to get lost or break down on (e.g. the Sahara). We'd like to do well in the race itself, so the vehicles have to be fairly fast off road, but we also have to be our own support vehicles, so we have to find a good balance between performance and practicality. The cars we have shortlisted (based on budget and reputation) are;
Mitsubishi Shogun / Pajero (so far, this is our favourite), Jeep Grand Cherokee, Nissan Patrol.
Does anybody know of any other cars that might be suitable for this kind of project? (we want to pick up the base vehicles for no more than £3,500, and plan to modify them fairly extensively, possibly to FIA spec for future racing projects)
But mainly, can anybody give me some ideas of the essential things to do to a car if you want to get across the desert safely... and quickly ;-)
