On September 13, Ivoire Troyes will host the “Automobiles de collection, Youngtimers et véhicules utilitaires” auction at Château de Menois. As the name suggests, the lot includes classic cars as old as Georges Richard’s 1920 UNIC UP 7 along with various sports cars and coupes as new as a 2008 Fiat 500 produced for Ferrari customers. There are even a Dodge WC-51 and GMC CCKW 353 from World War II.

The rally raid enthusiast trawling the collection will immediately pause upon seeing a very famous car: the #212 VSD-sponsored Range Rover V8 that René Metge drove to victory in the 1981 Paris–Dakar Rally.

But here’s the thing: it isn’t the real McCoy. It’s actually another Range Rover that raced Dakar, but with Fabrice Pillaut.

Before you get up in arms and think Ivoire Troyes is misleading bidders, the auction house never said this is Metge’s Range Rover. In fact, it’s explicitly described as an “ex Paris–Dakar 1988” competitor.

The easiest way to tell the difference is the registration number at the front: “8264 RB 18”. Metge’s Range Rover is registered as “7375 TV95”.

Even if it’s not the original Metge machine, the livery is an intentional tribute to the late Dakar legend.

This particular Range Rover was registered on November 21, 1980, and sold by a Venant dealership in Bourges. Christian Engenspiller was entrusted with converting it for rallies; he installed a roll cage, heavy-duty suspension, a new fuel tank, fiberglass roof, and mounts for spare parts while reducing the overall weight. Afterward, it was brought to Metge’s company Autorama 92 for performance tuning.

Pillaut entered the 1983 Dakar Rally with it, serving as the navigator for Didier Sudre; however, the two didn’t finish. He tried again in 1985, this time calling the shots for Christophe Corre in a UMM Alter, but retired a second time.

In 1986, Pillaut returned to his Range Rover with Daniel Moree as the driver. Properly integrated into Metge’s team and sponsored by Gould, the car finished 50th overall.

He took over driving duties for the ’88 edition. Ivoire Troyes says there was an “argument between the driver and co-driver in Agadir that resulted in their withdrawal”, though this is likely supposed to be the Nigerien city of Agadez (Stage 9) since Agadir—which is in Morocco—wasn’t on the 1988 route.

As for Metge, he switched to Porsche in 1984 and went on to win the ’84 and ’86 races for the brand. A replica of his 1981-winning Range Rover was raced by his kids Élodie and Jonathan at this year’s Africa Eco Race Historic.

Featured image credit: Ivoire Troyes