Prototype - Cockpit Package Review
The absence of a broad transmission tunnel permits the occupants to be located closer together and away from the steel tubing of the cage, specifically the cant and header rails. 

Prototype - Rolling Chassis
Peter Bennett, team engineer, has years of experience designing race and rally cars.  The engineering team designed and built the spaceframe chassis and many of the components that go into building this highly specialised rally car.  The engine, gearbox and differentials are standard production parts that Peter and his team have modified to make suitable for the extreme demands of rough off-road driving. 

Tubular Spaceframe Chassis
The design incorporates the latest crash knowledge and satisfies all FIA crash and safety criteria.  Highest quality, aircraft specification T45 and 2crmo4 tubing is used in varying sizes and gauges to optimise strength, weight and rigidity, as well as introducing a degree of deformability to boost crash worthiness.

Seats sit on a false floor to give the driver good eye level visibility, while pedals, steering column and seat mountings all incorporate considerable adjustment to cater for all shapes and body sizes.

The Suspension
Superior vehicle dynamics were a must for the McRae Enduro. The ability to ride well over mixed surfaces from soft sand to rough rocks, to give the driver good feedback, while being tough enough to survive the pounding that the car suffers on Cross-Country rallies, precluded any possibility of starting with a production platform.  Only a clean-sheet T1 prototype chassis design could deliver suitably optimised vehicle dynamics.

The McRae Enduro employs double wishbones with a toe-link.  Twin dampers from 4GRIP incorporate the latest level of technology, while twin, progressive springs are fitted over each damper.  Common and interchangeable upper and common lower wishbones, together with common uprights are fitted to all four corners, reducing the number of spares that have to be carried.

Full Size Foam Model
A full size model was made by using the CAD (Computer Aided Design) files to guide the milling machine as it cut a special hard foam into the shape of the body.  One of the designer, Damian McTaggart, then hand finished the shape and surface to perfection.

Prototype Testing
An extensive test programme runs all the way through to the vehicles being shipped to Argentina for the January start of the 2009 Dakar. The prototype rally car had completed 20,000 kilometers by April 08 and the car was then stripped and all components taken apart and inspected for wear. The results were very encouraging but testing continues with a major desert durability test in the Middle East in late summer 08. Alister McRae will drive the prototype to the absolute limit over mixed terrain from harsh rocky tracks through to soft sand dunes to test the strength and durability of all the components. He will also drive on gravel, mud and sand, to fine-tune the chassis settings, and gauge component performance in high ambient temperatures.

Vehicle Design
With the cockpit package and target weight distribution achieved, the resulting vehicle ‘hard points’ were passed to former TVR designer Damian McTaggart to create a suitably attractive shape.  Two further criteria were given: the body must incorporate production door closures (including hinges catches and seals); and a high volume ‘buy anywhere’ windscreen.