Cosmetic enhancements and an extensive range of rally-raid accessories are among the key upgrades for Dacia Duster Soul of Dakar
As a brand, Dacia is preferred for its affordability, reliability, simplicity and practicality. Now, setting a new milestone, Dacia will be making its first-ever entry into the Dakar Rally. The 2025 Dakar Rally will be held from 3rd to 17th January in Saudi Arabia. The company has now come up with a Dakar Rally theme special edition version of Duster. Let’s take a look.
Renault Duster Dakar Rally Edition – Soul of Dakar
Even in its stock form, new-gen Duster has an eye-catching design. The visuals have been significantly enhanced with the Duster Soul of Dakar concept. Dacia recently unveiled this concept at an event in Milan, Italy. Duster Soul of Dakar is part of the celebrations for the brand’s debut participation in the Dakar Rally.
It is possible that the Dacia Duster Soul of Dakar concept can be used as an inspiration for more special versions in the future. While Dacia Duster Soul of Dakar appears to have a distinctive styling, it is actually inspired from the Dacia Sandrider that will be participating in the 2025 Dakar Rally.
Sandrider will take part in the Ultimate T1+ category. It will use synthetic fuel and utilize a 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 engine that makes 360 hp. Talking about Dacia Duster Soul of Dakar, the concept utilizes an exciting colour theme of white and orange on a black background. The bonnet gets zig-zag orange stripes, whereas other surfaces have straight lines.
On the sides, the Dacia Duster Soul of Dakar has a splash effect in white colour. Another distinctive feature is the bold ‘DACIA’ lettering at the bottom section of the front door. The concept also gets a new design for the alloy wheels. The orange stripes can be seen at the rear as well.
Rally accessories
Dacia Duster Soul of Dakar gets a rugged-looking roof rack. The SUV also features some of the off-road accessories taken from Dacia’s InNature accessories collection. There’s a waterproof fabric bag and a large lockable cargo box. A shovel is also part of the off-road accessories kit.
Inside, one can see multiple YouClip accessory mounts. These can be used for holding various items such as bags, drinks, tablets and smartphones. Apart from these additions, everything else is largely the same as the stock model, which is also likely to launch in India sometime in 2025.
It includes the 1.2-litre TCe gasoline turbo three-cylinder mild-hybrid powertrain that generates 130 hp. It has a 6-speed manual transmission. The mild hybrid powertrain comprises a 48-volt starter generator.
New-gen Duster India launch
In India, the new, 3rd-gen Renault Duster is expected to be introduced in 2025. With its sporty profile, the new Renault Duster can give tough competition to its rivals. The compact SUV segment has popular options such as Hyundai Creta, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, Kia Seltos, Toyota HyRyder, Tata Curvv, Skoda Kushaq, Honda Elevate and Volkswagen Taigun. Renault will also introduce the Bigster SUVa 7-seater version of the new Duster. It will challenge SUVs like Tata Safari, XUV700 and Alcazar.
