Dacia Duster Pikes Peak First Photos

Laugh no more, detractors of Europe's most successful low-cost brand, as all your giggling will turn into a sigh like no other once your eyes fall upon this baby: enter the 850 horsepower Dacia Duster, and the first photos of it!

A while back, it doesn't matter how long, Renault told the world, through more or less official channels, that it will make a run on the famous/infamous Pikes Peak this year. Not with a Renault vehicle, as common sense would have told you, but with one of the models of its Romanian low-cost brand, Dacia.

On June 26, driver Jean-Philippe Dayraut will get behind the wheel of a heavily modified Dacia Duster, one that, if we are to judge by the numbers provided so far, makes all the other models in the Dacia lineup look like horse carriages.

The official details of the model are still kept a secret by Dacia, but rumors say the car will use a Nissan GT-R-sourced V8 that spits out 850 horsepower. The engine is supposed to propel 900 kg worth of Duster.

Now, obvious exaggeration aside - Dacia said when it confirmed the Duster as an entry for the Pikes Peak that the brand “has forged a solid reputation for delivering vehicles that boast an unrivaled performance and equipment package for their price” - the Pikes Peak Duster will surely manage to do something memorable during its run. And, as usual, we'll be here to tell you all about it.

In the meanwhile, enjoy the photos that reached the web courtesy of blogdaciaduster4x4.tk and blogautomobile.fr.