WATCH: Inside the Dakar-ready Toyota Hilux going at race pace

Taking a ride with an 18-year-oldlaaitiewho just got his driver’s licence can be nerve-wrecking. But when thatlaaitieis Sa’aad Variawa and the car is a Dakar-ready Toyota GR Hilux IMT EVO, it’s great fun! The Citizen Motoringrecently got the rare chance to be strapped into the passenger seat of the Rally-Road spec bakkie for a training run with Variawa over a gravel course in Namibia.

The youngster only turned 18 and got his driver’s licence a few weeks before the outing, but he is a seasoned racing driver. Coming from a comprehensive kart and track background, Variawa partook in this year’s opening round of theSouth African Rally-Raid Championshipat the Parys 400. He again lined up with navigator Wade Harris at this weekend’s GR Stella 1000 Marathon in the North West.

The teenager pilots one of three Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa (TGRSA) cars alongside his brother Saood Variawa, the reigning national Rally-Raid champion, and Guy Botterill. Depending on how the younger Variawa performs in the Toyota Hilux IMT EVO for the rest of the season, he might find himself taking part in the Dakar Rally next season as the third TGRSA crew, also behind Saood and Botterill. The locally developed and built Toyota GR Hilux IMT Evos run the 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo petrol engine fromthe Land Cruiser 300.

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Official power and torque figures are unknown, but rumours have it at around 260kW and 600Nm. But it’s not just the power that impress you when you experience this remarkable racing machine at full tilt. It’s grip, balance and handling at breakneck speeds on loose gravel is off the charts.

Let alone the crew, who operate for hours and hours everyday over two weeks at the Dakar. Barely 10 minutes left us out of breath, with a headrush and a stiff lower back!

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