Desert Drag Race

AN IRREGULAR DAY AT 4X4 AUSTRALIA SEES US LINE UP SEVEN DUAL-CAB UTES FOR A STRAIGHT-LINE, HIGH-SPEED SHOOT-OUT ON A DUSTY CLAYPAN.

- Toby Hagon

HERE AT 4X4 Australia we spend a lot of time punishing four-wheel drives across the toughest terrain, in turn evaluating wheel articulation, traction systems and ground clearance. It is, after all, the core of machines designed for adventure and to perform flawlessly in the rough stuff.

However, for a bit of fun we’ve changed our focus for a one-off high-speed indulgence. For this test we’ve focused on a single attribute of the latest breed of dual-cab utes: performance.

Not around a racetrack or scorching over a lumpy track Baja style, but in a straight line − a flat-out thrash from a standstill across a double quarter-mile. Think effortless outback touring, overtaking that road train or simply wanting to build pace before the next Simpson sand dune.

Rather than a regular drag strip we’ve thrown in an outback twist, performing testing on a 1.2km expanse of claypan that is as smooth as they come. It’s on a private station and is a long way from your average performance testing patch; parched earth setting the foundation for a dusty top-speed experience.

With the temperature north of 40°C it is about as harsh as Aussie conditions get, with the occasional willy-willy snaking across the course to add to the Aussie ambience. Our drag race took part over a defined 800m strip, the extra few hundred metres a comfortable safety margin to slow cars travelling in excess of 150km/h.

It’s all over in 30-something seconds, an orange sand dune rushing towards us as the claypan disappears beneath pounding all-terrains at a rate of 45 metres every second. We’re covering almost the length of an Olympic swimming pool every second ... in a dual-cab ute that can comfortably cope with everything from soft sand and mud to craggy rocks and river boulders.