Kamaz Truck Goes to Northern Russia for an Epic Snow Jump

For the rest of the world, though, it's the truck manufacturer that everybody wants to beat in the Dakar Rally and pretty much any other competition it enters. I remember watching these behemoths crest the sand dunes (back when the Dakar Rally actually ended in Dakar) and wondering what is it that keeps them from sinking in.

Even though I had no plans of becoming a truck driver, I was somehow more interested in this class than any of the other three of the competition. And glancing over the numbers of these vehicles makes it easy to understand why.

The Kamaz 4326b - which, by the way, has won this year's Dakar Rally too - is a juggernaut weighing 10.5 tons (that's 23k lb) that's capable of reaching 140 km/h (87 mph) despite being shaped like a 7'-high block of concrete.

Its 16.2-liter V8 turbodiesel engine generates 1,000 horsepower, and only God knows how much torque. What we mortals know is that the 16-speed mechanical synchromesh helps it reach 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 11.5 seconds. If you've ever seen a rhino at full speed, you can get a pretty accurate idea of what the Kamaz would look like.

Alternatively, you can watch the clip below. The truck shows up in the kind of high-quality clips we've come to expect from Red Bull as it makes good use of its 30 cm of suspension travel. The giant machine is driven by Eduard Nikolaev, the 2013 and 2017 Dakar winner, and also a man who, apparently, isn't afraid to challenge the most basic laws of physics.

A vehicle this size should not be able to fly without the use of some ginormous wings, right? Well, it turns out that a bit of snow in the right place is enough to send it cresting through the cold air around Murmansk for 37 meters (121 feet). They must have felt the moment it touched the ground all the way to China, and some tsunamis were allegedly reported as well. Totally worth it, though.