The exciting new Fiat PanDAKAR is headlining Fiat Auto UK's stand at this weekend's Autosport International, the compact rally machine in its eye-catching colour scheme lining up next to its powerful one-off rally cousin, the Panda Evoluzione, and its latest production sister the Panda 100HP, on a stand which is dedicated to these tiny machines.

Launched to much anticipation at last December's Bologna Motor Show, the Fiat PanDAKAR’s dramatic adventure on the Dakar 2007 Rally unfortunately ended prematurely on Tuesday. Miki Biasion and Tiziano Siviero had to retire from the rally during the night when they got stuck in the sand, while Bruno Saby and Rudy Briani, who did manage to finish the stage by the next morning, followed by the Iveco Eurocargo support truck driven by Livio Diamante, Giorgio Albiero and Nicola Montecchi, were unable to take part in the fifth leg because they were just two hours late for the start.

The fourth stage of the rally, from El Rachidia to Ouarzazate, where it all went wrong for the factory developed and run Fiat team, proved to be very difficult and demanding for all contestants, and in fact over 60 other competitors were forced to retire. At the start of the very long special stage (405 km), the two Fiat PanDAKARs kept up a good speed on the uneven, dusty roads, travelling very close together, until poor visibility made it impossible for Biasion to avoid a deep hole.
 

Saby reached the supply point about halfway through the special stage without any trouble, and continued as far as the first soft sand dunes (the terrible fesh-fesh), where the worst difficulties lay in wait. The dark night made everything more complicated. By morning the Fiat PanDAKAR had passed the dunes, without particular problems, followed by the Eurocargo, but the vehicles did not reach the Ouarzazate starting line in time.

Until that moment, the two PanDAKARs had not only succeeded in attracting a great deal of admiration, being the only almost entirely factory-built cars to take on the huge off-roaders specially prepared for the gruelling marathon event, but had also revealed their good technical potential. This was underlined by their good average speed, and the excellent 91st time set by Biasion in the second leg, on a very hard surface and a tortuous route. The problems arose when the cars reached the soft sand, and the PanDAKARs proved to be too low to tackle the deep ruts created by the trucks and prototypes that had preceded them. “It has been a fantastic experience,” was Biasion’s immediate comment. “Our car has good technical potential and was able to demonstrate it. The fact that it could hold its own against cars built specifically for this race underlines the excellence of the product.”