For their second Dakar Classic together as “Duckar”, Barbora Holická and Lucie Engová have upgraded to a Citroën 2CV Sahara, a 4×4 (kind of) variant of the traditional 2CV.

The Citroën 2CV Sahara was developed in 1958 for, as the name suggests, off-road use in the deserts of Africa. However, its biggest quirk is the use of twin 12-horsepower, 425cc engines, one at the front and the other in the trunk: the front engine would power the front wheel while the latter did the same at the back. In a twisted sense, this made the Sahara a four-wheel drive car.

Nearly 700 Saharas were produced during its 13-year lifespan, but only 27 reportedly still exist and it thus has become a highly sought-after piece. Tomáš Neruda, the team’s mechanic, recently restored one for a Czech collector.

“I’ve been building Ducks for over 30 years, but I had never built an off-road special before,” said Neruda. “I know these cars from global rallies where the off-road community also meets, but I didn’t have particular experience with them.

“We spent a long time thinking about what modifications were possible, what techniques are used in African desert raids, and what could push us further. We’re considering the car’s weight, gearbox, and especially engine performance. We’re consulting with a specialist in Belgium, and we even built an engine while there that doubles the power at the same weight, while still being a simple, air-cooled, two-cylinder boxer engine.”

Holická and Engová won the H1.A class and finished 36th overall in the 2024 Dakar Classic, where they raced a 1979 Citroën 2CV. They were the first team in the Dakar’s history, Rally or Classic, to reach the finish in a 2CV. The team still has that 2CV on hand, while the Sahara is a new piece.

In addition to the Sahara, the team will bring a Citroën H Van as a support vehicle. The Sahara is nicknamed “Duckar+1” while the van is dubbed “Duckster”. The team name is a portmanteau of “duck” and “Dakar” since it was founded to help raise ducks at Safari Park Dvůr Králové.

Duckar is not the only 2CV doing the 2025 Classic. Team 2 Chameaux, consisting of driver Floris de Raadt and navigator David Kann, will take part as well.

Featured image credit: Barbora Holická