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- The Tri-State Area
It's a brand you may never have heard of (and indeed it has recently changed its name to a far more boring one), but SsangYong is one of Korea's largest car manufacturers. In fact it's technically second now, among marques making their own cars, behind the Hyundai Motor Group...
With the name meaning "Double Dragon" in Korean (seriously, how cool?), SsangYong is best known for its lines of relatively inexpensive SUVs, Pickups, 4x4s, and large MPVs - and perhaps for one of its vehicles being among the ugliest ever to be actually sold to people.
Either way, its humble offerings rank as some of the best bang-for-buck vehicles out there, combining the company's own platforms and bodies with Mercedes-Benz engines, usually offering significant off-road and towing ability for very little cost.
That's perhaps why renowned Spanish Dakar racer Isidre Esteve Pujol selected the SsangYong Kyron MPV as his vehicle for a remarkable attempt at the 2009 Dakar Rally - revealed by SsangYong at the 2008 Madrid Motor Show.
The 2009 rally was famous for being the first in South America. Following attacks on tourists in December 2007 in Mauritania, and continued threats of more, the 2008 Dakar Rally (already running from Lisbon to Dakar, rather than the original Paris) was cancelled altogether, with the 2009 event organised for Argentina and Chile instead.
That gave two years' preparation instead of one, and the timing for Esteve himself was fortunate. A ten-year veteran of the motorbike class, Esteve sustained life-threatening injuries in the 2007 Rally TT Baja Almanzora and was left with lower limb paralysis. The additional rehabilitation time gave SsangYong and rally raid specialist Tot Curses time to prepare a specially adapted version of the Kyron to allow Esteve to drive.
For the most part though, the Kyron was close to the roadgoing vehicle, including the 2.7-litre diesel Mercedes engine - tweaked to produce 205hp and 316lbft - and all-wheel drive system. The most significant work came in ensuring the car met safety standards, with a full FIA roll cage, and through underbody protection required to survive the jumps (and landings) of the South American deserts.
Up against some specialised equipment in the cars category, Esteve took the diesel Kyron to a 71st place finish with co-driver Eric Auge Medina. However he had to spend the next year recovering from the ordeal and wouldn't compete in Dakar again until 2017. The Kyron was adapted further for the 2010 Spanish Rally TT Championship.
But the car looks nice 
