Andros Trophy 2011: This is How France's Winter Version of NASCAR Looks Like

Four-time Formula 1 champion Alain Prost and his Dacia Duster took first place at the Andros Trophy season finale held in Paris on the Stade de France this past weekend. Although the competition did not count for the championship, it attracted more than 50,000 spectators at France's largest stadium that was transformed into an ice-covered oval track. What they witnessed was a superb ice-skating contest for cars and bikes. Follow the break for the videos.

The former F1 ace drove the race-spec Dacia Duster Ice to victory after eliminating all of his opponents, including Olivier Panis (Skoda Fabia) and Jean Philippe Dayraut (BMW 1-Series), the latter being none other than the Andros Trophy champion and the man who will drive the Duster hill climb car at Pikes Peak in June.

“I would like to dedicate my win to Dacia and to the public who gave me such a warm welcome," said Alain Prost. "We really wanted to perform well today, and we did," he added.

All cars that participate in the Andros Trophy must look like their production counterparts on the outside while complying with certain regulations including four-wheel drive system, four-wheel steering, a three-liter six-cylinder engine with 340HP, a six-speed gearbox and special studded ice tires.

By Dan Mihalascu

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Dacia Produces its 4,000,000th Vehicle after 45 Years

Renault's Dacia brand produced its 4,000,000th car at the Mioveni plant in Romania, 45 years after the company’s foundation in 1966. The car with which Dacia achieved the milestone is a 4WD Duster Laureate in a brown finish powered by an 110HP 1.5-liter diesel engine.

Since Renault took over the factory from the Romanian state in 1999, the company has produced close to 2 million cars. Dacia built its 1,000,000th car in 1985, the second million in 1998 and the third million in 2007. Only three and a half years later another million was added, thanks to increased production fuelled by demand and sustained by the €1.2 billion ($1.7 billion) investment Renault made since taking over the Romanian brand.

The Duster is currently Dacia’s best selling model of the brand, with half of the 65 cars produced every hour in Mioveni belonging to the Duster range. Since its launch in 2010, the low-cost SUV received over 100,000 international orders, with Dacia selling nearly 4,900 Dusters in its home market last year.

To celebrate the production milestone, the company released a “how it's made” footage of its 4,000,000th car that you can watch below.

By Dan Mihalascu

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New Renault Duster for South America Debuts at Buenos Aires Motor Show

The Renault-Nissan Alliance’s low-cost Dacia Duster SUV has lost its Romanian badges to cater to the needs of the South American market where it will be sold under the Renault brand.

Redesigned for the local market, the Renault Duster SUV makes its regional debut at this week’s Buenos Aires Motor Show. It will first launch in Argentina and Brazil during the last quarter of the year, with more countries to follow after. Production will take place at Renault’s Curitiba plant in Brazil.

The logo change also brought some minor modifications to the Duster including a new front grille, different wheels painted in dark gray and a latest-generation four-wheel-drive system. In addition, Renault upgraded the interior with a restyled dashboard.

Commenting on the presentation of the Renault Dacia, Steve Norman, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing, Renault, said:

“Renault Duster is really adapted to Latin American markets. It surprises with its dimensions, larger than those of the competition, and its excellent abilities. This special version, with exclusively designed interiors, new colour schemes and a new grille, will make 4x4s affordable for more and more customers in Brazil and Argentina. For Renault, in America, we can really say that there will be a before and an after Duster.”

Alongside the Duster, Renault is also introducing a phase 2 versions of the Dacia-based Sandero and Sandero Stepway, together with the pure electric Fluence sedan.

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Eibach and Giacuzzo Design Take on the Dacia Duster

Following in the footsteps of Elia, German aftermarket specialists at Eibach and Giacuzzo Design teamed up to create a tuning package for the Dacia Duster SUV. The two companies opted for light modifications in order to stick to the basic character of the Duster and to make sure the price of the tuning package would remain affordable for the car's target group.

An expert in suspensions, Eibach fitted the car with its Pro-Kit Performance Springs, which lower the ride height by 30 mm to improve handling and provide a more aggressive stance. Giacuzzo Design then took over and fitted the Dacia with 20-inch Shark wheels made by Alutec. The rims are painted in black and white and are shod in wide Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires (245/35R20). The tuner takes great pride in the fact that the wheel-tire combination is one of the largest ever seen on the Duster. However, we're not convinced they are the right choice for this type of car, but tastes differ.

Moving on to the front end of the car, there's a bull bar made of polished stainless steel with the company claiming it's "constructed to provide optimum pedestrian protection". We can’t vouch for that, but it surely fits the car's off-road character. Similar bars are fitted to the rocket panels, while the lower part of the rear bumper has been modified to accommodate a double-end rear muffler made of polished stainless steel.

By Dan Mihalascu

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Renault’s Dacia Duster “No Limit” Racer gets 850HP V6 Sourced from the Nissan GT-R!

Following an early reveal on racing driver Jean-Philippe Dayraut's website, Renault today released official photos of its PikesPeak contender, the 850HP Dacia Duster “No Limit”. The name comes from the “Unlimited” class of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, which imposes no restrictions on the size or power output of the engine, maximum power or torque. In addition, there are no restrictions concerning the transmission or the aerodynamic characteristics. Looking at the size of the Duster's rear wing, it is obvious the car competes in the “Unlimited” class.

The one-off prototype was built by Tork Engineering (which handled the design, production, assembly and development) and Sodemo (engine), in association with Renault Sport Technologies, which supplied certain components.

Under the glass-fiber skin (the car weighs 950 kg or 2,094 pounds), the Duster “No Limit” features a 3.8-liter V6 engine specially built by Sodemo and based on the Nissan GT-R's VR 38 DETT powerplant. However, instead of the GT-R's 530HP, the six-cylinder unit has been tuned to deliver no less than 850 horses at 7,000 rpm and 900 Nm (663.8 lb-ft) of torque at 5,000 rpm. The engine is linked to a six-speed sequential gearbox specially developed by Sadev.

The man that will drive the monster up the hill is Jean-Philippe Dayraut, three-time Andros Trophy winner and six times French champion in single-seater and touring car racing. He convinced Renault to take part in this endeavour, with the team aiming for a win on June 26, despite the fact that both the car and the driver are facing their first Pikes Peak event.

"The Pikes Peak Hill Climb is the only event where you get to keep a monster like this in check while drifting at speeds of 200 km/h on a course which features a mix of asphalt and dirt," said Jean-Philippe Dayraut. "I can't think of any other form of motorsport where such cars are authorised," he added.

By Dan Mihalascu

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