Dankar, with pleasure
01/06/2023
Dankar is probably a car brand that few people in this country are familiar with. Car production began in Rio de Janeiro in 1978, initially with a sports car based on the VW Brasilia.
In 1979, a mid-engined sports car called the Squalo was presented , which was initially available as a coupé and then, from 1981, also as a Targa version (pictured above).
The technology came from Volkswagen, with a central tubular frame with a front subframe providing stability under the plastic body. The chassis was VW-inspired, with double wishbones at the front and triangular wishbones at the rear. The water-cooled four-cylinder engine came from the Brazilian Passat TS, had 1588 cm3 and produced 80 hp at 5700 rpm.
Weighing just 885 kg, the coupé ran at around 175 km/h and, according to the manufacturer, should consume around 7.5 liters per 100 km. At 403 cm long, 181 cm wide and 116 cm high, the sports car was compact.
At the end of 1981, another project was presented, the Dankar Julia. This was a self-supporting plastic body with cast-in steel profiles that could be slipped over used VW Passat models. Visually, the result was only partially convincing and production was planned to start in January 1982, subject to approval from VW Brazil. Whether this project was a success is questionable, as production at Dankar ended in 1984. However, the production rights for the "Julia" were passed on to another company.
The Squalo also remained rare, with 36 examples being produced. Who has seen one?
