Published Oct 17th, 2022, 10/17/22 3:36 pm
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The 95 TurboTwin X1 and its sister vehicle, the 95 TurboTwin X2, are rally raid racing trucks developed specifically to compete in the 1988 Paris-Dakar rally. They are based in design on DAF's 95 line of cargo trucks, which was first introduced in 1987.
The 95 TurboTwin X1 (and the X2) featured a simple yet durable aluminum spaceframe chassis designed by DAF factory driver Jan De Rooy. This design element was previously used in the FAV 3600 4x4 TurboTwin and TurboTwin II trucks, which De Rooy had also designed and driven in the Paris-Dakar rally in 1986 and 1987, respectively. Each of the two 11.6 litre Inline-6 twin-turbo diesel engines, positioned side-by-side in a midship configuration and each running an axle (another design element carried over from the TurboTwin and TurboTwin II), had a third turbocharger (feeding into the other two turbos) added to them, making for 1220HP and 4700Nm of torque. The truck also featured new 24" alloy wheels and a redesigned cab. As with the previous TurboTwin trucks, the door on the driver's side featured a cigarette holder. This is due to Jan De Rooy himself being a chain smoker.
The X1 (#600) was doing exceptionally well in the truck category of the rally with De Rooy at the wheel, able to rough it through the harsh desert terrain and even overtaking Peugeot's 405 Turbo-16 Grand Raid cars, one of which driven by 1981 World Rally Champion Ari Vatanen.
The X1 was in 3rd place overall by the 8th stage of the rally, when the X2 (#601) was involved an tragic accident. Speeding on a rough patch of sand at a speed of around 200 km/h, the X2 rolled over and somersaulted several times. The seatbase for co-driver Kees von Loevezijn (Netherlands) was violently wrenched loose, sending him flipping out of the cab. Loevezijn died, while driver Theo van de Rijt (Netherlands) and mechanic Chris Ross (Scotland) walked away from it alive, though with serious injuries, and the X2 was totaled. As a result of this accident, the X1 couldn't finish the race, and DAF withdrew from the rally and ceased all motorsports activities for several years, also selling the trucks and spare parts to De Rooy's team.
As of current, the X1 is on exhibit at the DAF museum in Eindhoven, Netherlands, and kept in running condition. The same could not be said for the ill-fated X2, whose stripped remains were left to rust away in the vast desert of the Ténéré region to this day.
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