Stéphane Peterhansel has achieved his tenth Dakar victory, this time in a MINI All4 Racing. A seasoned veteran of the two-week long race, Peterhansel won his first Dakar at the age of 21.
His victory car this time around was a MINI All4 Racing built by German tuner X-Raid and was designed to look like a MINI Countryman even though it shared almost no stock parts with the production countryman. The All4 Racing weighed in at 4,100-lbs and featured a 3.0L twin-turbocharged diesel powerplant with 315-hp and 516 lb-ft of torque. The engine was mated to a six-speed sequential gearbox while the car itself packed tons of high-tech race parts including water-cooled rear brakes.
The 2012 Dakar Rally took place over 5,500-miles through Peru, Chile and Argentina. Second place went to Nani Roma, who was also in a MINI All4 Racing and third place went to Giniel De Villiers in a Toyota Hilux.
