The new Panda Dakar 2007, a tiny car which is imbued with very bold ambitions, is the focus of attention on the Fiat stand at the Bologna Motor Show, and there are now just over three weeks left before the two little rally machines set out from Lisbon on their epic adventure right across the North African desert.

The ambitious new Panda Dakar programme is being overseen by Claudio Berro, Fiat's new motorsports' boss who recently switched positions from the Maserati brand where he masterminded the recent race track success of the MC12 sportscars. "The project is one we started with an idea," Berro told Italiaspeed in Bologna. "Six months ago, maybe it's too late for the car but the challenge for us is important. We decided to start with one car to go to Dakar, but it was quickly clear it was not possible with only one car, we needed to have professional people, professional drivers, and strong trucks, which is the reason we work together with Iveco.

Once the big idea was in place, to tackle the 2007 Lisboa-Dakar Rally with a rally modified version of the Panda Cross which at the same time would remain as near to the vital characteristics of the road model as possible, the project began rolling very rapidly. "Then we start to test the car," continues Berro. "The first car was quite a bit different with its suspension, as we changed the suspension and the dampers; at the moment we have a very strong damper, with very strong handling of the car; and the engine is absolutely the same of the road version and even the gearbox. There will be some more evolutions in the next week we test again."
 

Taking the Panda Dakar to the North African desert to put it into action in the same conditions it will experience during the rally next month was the next step of the project, and by all accounts the car passed this first strenuous test with flying colours. "After the first day's testing in Tunisia the car was absolutely perfect, but it's clear that the car needs to be perfect for 8,000 kilometres not just 1,000 kilometres and this is the challenge, to go with this car in the same condition after 8,000 kilometres," says a realistic but upbeat Berro.

In Bologna the little Panda Dakar rally car looks visually very effective, with its huge underbody aluminium protection plates, jacked up suspension, rugged Michelin ZSR90 'desert terrain' tyres, roof mounted air intake, covered rear side windows, and a lurid colour scheme that the designers promise glows in the dark. "We need to stay optimistic, but the people are professionals and I'm very confident for the final result," he adds, concluding: "We need to stay dedicated to all the details; I think it is important in every race, especially in the Dakar, to know exactly every detail of the car. It's absolutely not a race, it is for us completely new; some people say that its impossible to reach Dakar the first time; this is our challenge." On 5th January 2007 two Fiat Panda Dakar rally car in the hands of Miki Biasion and former Dakar winner Bruno Saby will set out to take up this challenge.