You know a race has become a major event when major manufacturers begin to enter it for marketing reasons as well as to use it as a proving ground for their components and technologies. Such is the status of the Dakar now that it attracts not just car manufacturers but also motorcycle and truck manufacturers too. Among the many manufacturers that have embraced the Dakar in a big way is BMW, where its bikes and X-class vehicles have proven to be highly competitive with continuous development. One team, X-Raid GmbH, had been campaigning the X5 BMW, with which it won an FIA World Cup title in 2004. However they decided to switch to the X3 CC (for cross-country) beginning in 2005. Powered by an award-winning diesel twin-turbo straight-6 with 3 liters of displacement, the team rebuilt the X3 to stand up to the rigors of a multi-day, multi-stage, thousand mile rallies. The body of the X3 CC racer is full carbon-kevlar composite wrapped around a space-frame chassis with an integrated FIA-spec rollcage. Dual, remote reservoir Reiger shocks on each fully independently suspended corner provide 250 mm (9.8 inches) of travel while 6-pot AP racing brakes ensure more than adequate stopping power.
In marathon rallies, reliability counts for much more than outright horsepower, so output for the 2010 iteration of the races is still near the stock figures, at 310 horsepower. Torque is a high 510 lb-ft., which is very important in for an equipment-laden vehicle stuck in the sand. This power and torque are transmitted to the center diff by a Sadev sequential 6-speed, on to the X-Trac differentials.
As built, the X3 CC racer tips the scales at 1850 kg, with a top speed of more than 180 kph. In a desert, with no markers and in shifting dunes, many would agree that that's fast and dangerous enough. The X3 CC has lived a long and fruitful career for team X-raid and for 2011, X-raid has shifted to the Mini All4 using the same M57TU2D30 engine that has served it so sell in the X3 CC.
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