A trophy truck with a Land Rover Range Rover Velar body and the V10 from a Lamborghini Huracán. Yes, you read that right. The Morgan Clarke Design Range Rover Dakar Prototype really is that cool. Automotive photographer Larry Chen took a walk around the monster build at the SEMA show, giving us the best look at the beast we’ve gotten so far. “It’s the presence and the concept of a Dakar vehicle,” says designer and builder Morgan Clarke when describing the mashup of influences. It’s mid-engined and a 4×4, so it’s not a Pre-Runner design. But it’s also not exactly built to Dakar specs for that series.
SEMA Show
The SEMA Show is an annual trade show hosted in Las Vegas, Nevada by the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), first held in January 1967 as the High Performance and Custom Trade Show. It is widely considered to be the world’s largest tuner and aftermarket-specific motor show in the world. The show has traditionally been hosted in the Las Vegas Convention Center, attracting over 140,000 visitors annually, with over 2,400 exhibitors present in its current incarnation. Despite its focus on the aftermarket, the show attracts a large number of automakers annually, showcasing everything from concept builds to accessories.
- Location
- Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
- Dates
- 5-8 November 2024
- First Held
- 1967
- Event Frequency
- Annual
Designer Loves Wagons And Extreme Off-Road
Clarke started with a salvage titled Range Rover Velar, a Craig Hall Designs Baja buggy chassis, a chop saw, and a dream. He cut away huge portions of the original body and chassis to create the custom rig. Why? Because he loved the lines of the Velar. He’s a wagon guy and loved its long and low look.
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The rear-mounted powerplant is a 5.2-liter V10 from a Huracán, but it’s not a stock motor. It’s an Underground Racing Stage III engine fitted with two massive turbochargers. It should make 2,000 horsepower to the tires and Clarke said he thinks it will do wheelies “everywhere it goes.”
“One Of The Craziest Builds At SEMA”
Chen describes it as “one of the craziest builds here at SEMA.” With 4.6 million square feet of show space packed to the rafters with builds, that’s one heck of a compliment.
37-inch tall off-road tires look even more massive on this low-roof machine. The shocks are 4.0-inch units from King Racing, and Clarke says he’ll be 3D-printing Inconel parts to help protect the bodywork from the wastegate dump and the tailgate-exit exhaust.
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The cabin will be race-ready, including safety devices and creature comforts like a pressurized interior to keep out dust. It uses the stock Range Rover dash and doors – and all of it should work – helping make it look even cooler.
It’s not even done. Clarke says he plans to cover most of the unfinished portions, like the wheel wells and bumpers, with a dry carbon kit. The project has been ongoing for almost a year, but it’s starting to look complete. Clarke says to expect it to look ready for next year’s show.