The Dacia Duster is the first crossover SUV developed by the Romanian automaker Automobile Dacia. Officially revealed on 8 December 2009, it became available in Europe from 18 March 2010.
The Duster is offered with two-wheel or four-wheel drive. The 4x4 variants make use of Nissan's all-wheel drive system[2] which allows the driver to choose from three different driving modes: Auto, in which the front/rear torque split is calculated automatically as a function of available grip, Lock, whereby 50 per cent of torque is consistently fed through the rear axle, and 4x2 where the transmission is locked into two-wheel drive for maximum fuel efficiency.
SafetyDacia Duster features Bosch 8.1 ABS, as well as EBD electronic brakeforce distribution and EBA emergency brake assist. It also features ESC electronic stability control as an option on certain versions, as well as CSV understeer control and ASR traction control. This option also allows torque to be transferred
away from a spinning wheel in 4x4 mode to improve traction when diagonal wheel spin occurs.[3]
On the passive safety front, Dacia Duster comes as standard with two front airbags (depending on market) and three-point seat belts with load limiters for the front seats. Depending on version, two lateral head/thorax airbags are fitted in addition to the driver and passenger front airbags to provide additional protection in the case of side impact. Pyrotechnic pretensioners for the front seats (depending on version) complete Dacia Duster's retention system.
CompetitionA competition version of the Duster fitted with a 350 hp (261 kW) V6 engine and driven by Alain Prost[11] took part in the 2009/2010 French ice racing championship Trophée Andros, finishing in second place.
In 2010, the Duster participated in the Rallye Aicha des Gazelles, being first in the crossover class. The two Dacia teams successfully finished the Rallye on board the Duster: Dounia and Isabelle (Team 315 - Dacia) were first in the general ranking, while Nathalie and Dorothée (Team 316 - Dacia) finished in 5th place (out of 8 teams competing in the class).
In 2011, Dacia announced that they would be racing the Duster in the "Unlimited Class" of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The Dacia Duster 'No Limit' will be powered by an 850 bhp version of the VR38DETT engine used in the Nissan GT-R mated to a six-speed sequential transmission. The car is tuned by Tork Engineering, Sodemo and Renaultsport and will be driven by three-time Trophee Andros winner Jean-Phillipe Dayraut
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