38 years after Juan Porcar became one of the first Spaniards to finish top ten at the Dakar Rally, his ride is back in action. The yellow Range Rover V8 that he drove in the 1987 Paris–Dakar Rally was restored and is currently being piloted by Daniel Sallin and Thomas Payen in the M’Hamid Express.

A former bike racer who made his Dakar debut in 1982, Porcar was signed by Camel Range Rover Team for the 1987 Dakar. He and Rosendo Touriñan Morist finished tenth, three places behind teammates and fellow Spanish crew Salvador Cañellas and Domenec Ferran. Another Spanish crew, the Nissan Fanta Limon of Miguel Prieto and Ramón Termens, finished ninth.

Three years later, Porcar improved upon his finish with an eighth for Nissan Repsol. He and Touriñan continued to race for Nissan until 1997.

Porcar now works as a racing journalist.

Sallin and Payen’s Range Rover is the original one that Porcar used. Teampayen acquired the car before sending it to Kévin Di Giusto’s On/Off Road Garages for restoration, a process that took three years. Payen’s twin brother Baptiste was also involved with the project.

“Seeing the images and hearing the sound of the supercharged 8-cylinder engine moves me,” wrote Porcar, “because that sound and those images take me back to unforgettable moments that are forever etched in my memory.”

The M’Hamid Express, also known as the Morocco Sand Express and Loasis L’Original, is a historic regularity rally.

Featured image credit: Teampayen