Dutch team with 2CV at start of Dakar Classic

“I was almost born in a 2CV.”

De Raadt dreamed of participating in Le Dakar as a small boy. He waited patiently until he found the ideal car for it: a duck in Voisin configuration. “I was almost born in a 2CV and I have had many in my life,” he said. But then why Dakar? De Raadt: “A good friend once told me that I’m pretty okay in the routine, but that I’m at my best when things get really challenging – and no one is up to the task. So driving the toughest desert rally on earth with the weakest car, that seemed like a nice challenge to me.”

No Sahara, but even rarer 2CV 4×4

The car with which Team 2Chameaux appears at the start in Saudi Arabia is not a 2CV Sahara, the rare and valuable duck with two engines and all-wheel drive. De Raadt found in Belgium an if possible even rarer 2CV 4×4, equipped with four-wheel drive by means of a cardan shaft, developed by Voisin. “That was a French mechanic who converted 2CVs to 4×4 in the early 1980s near Grenoble. We use Citroen’s original two-cylinder engine with some modifications. Despite the duck’s low weight, it will be quite a challenge to make it to the top of high sand dunes and reach the finish in Shubaytah after 12 leaden stages on January 17. Together with my good friend David whom I have known since 1986, we want to at least try to enjoy every stage of the adventure!”

Swing Out

The past few months have been hard at work preparing the car for the desert rally; on Thursday, November 21, the team will be waved goodbye at the Cool Classic Club in Naarden. The preparations and adventures of Team2Chameaux can be followed on instagram through the account @team2chameaux.