Test: Rage Hurricane / Cyclone

This is ensured by the extremely favorable ratio of the weight of the four-wheel vehicle to the engine power, as well as the rear-wheel drive, so that the driver's hands are always busy.

Marco Pirman, who cares about the flawless work of the English decomposers, says that this is a real car race, which is not too expensive and is actually very safe. All of this happens at speeds below 100 kilometers per hour, and even a fatal driver error will not result in multiple rollovers or chaos, which would otherwise occur when the driver loses control of the vehicle at, say, 200 kilometers per hour. The consequences are grave there, they cannot be here. This is why Rage is great for anyone looking to test their steering and tail catching skills in a safe environment, and then transfer the resulting sensations and knowledge to larger, faster and of course more expensive racing cars. “Everything is in sensations, nothing happens by force. When the driver exaggerates, Rage punishes him and the rear end catches up with you, followed by a spin that peacefully ends in a cloud of dust. The beauty of all this is that the next moment you can immediately step on the gas pedal and go further, of course, richer, for a new valuable experience of exaggeration. The trail, extremely elaborate and perfect, runs between an olive grove on one side and vines on the other, snakes through the green meadow and forms the perfect backdrop with terra rosse red. There are no borders, no excursion zones, everything is natural and natural, like real sensations when you experience a feeling of weightlessness during a coherent drift rhythm on the rhythm section of turns. If anywhere, this is the fastest way to learn how to glide properly in corners. The machine itself will immediately tell you when you are too busy, or too uneven, too fast or too slow. The suspension works great, and while the Rage is not your typical long-travel buggy, there is still enough damping to prevent even a large hole or hump from knocking it out of the way. The feeling is incredibly similar to driving a racing car to the Dakar. I tested the Mitsubishi Pajero in Dubai many years ago and the way the car reacts to impacts and commands while driving is very similar. When you apply it, it becomes very predictable. With a simple steering wheel, that is, turning in the other direction while cornering, you unbalance it and then apply throttle based on the steering angle of the front wheels or side slip force. The Rage was also developed by the McRea Racing team for the Dakar and can race in a special configuration in this most challenging rally in the world.

The small Rage Cyclone, which is the one powered by a 70 horsepower Suzuki three-cylinder engine, is best to start with as it makes more driving mistakes. And because you learn from mistakes faster than anyone else, you quickly become mature for a more powerful three-cylinder engine with a capacity of 140 "horsepower", which, with its sound, firmly says that it is not to be trifled with. The engine, which is borrowed from the Yamaha FX Nytro snowmobile, glows with a harsh voice and kicks up a lot more dust from under the wheels, and accelerations are suitable for this. It also uses a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT), which is a great idea since the driver has more to play with putting power to the ground and finding the perfect line than choosing the right gear. But this is still a real wild beast that accelerates to 100 kilometers per hour in just four seconds! If you still have everything under control with some knowledge of the weaker model, going overboard with the stronger one will quickly lead to confusion and it will no longer be clear to you where you are turning the steering wheel or the track fills up quickly. In both cases, skepticism about the initial thought that an automatic CVT (works similarly to scooters) is not a race at all, and that it would be much better than a manual one with the consistency of being fast. To be honest, if I had to deal with shifting the gear lever again, there would be too much confusion. In this way, the driver can focus on driving, on feelings, on finding a race at the border, which is the ultimate goal anyway.

We finished the race test with smiles on our faces and lots of relaxed adrenaline. If you do not know how to surprise your partner, friend or simply arrange an unforgettable holiday, we will give you a hint. Imagine a sports day with the Rage buggy! You can organize a racing day on the Savudrija track with a Rage brand representative with us at Pirman Racing, or you can order your own Rage racing buggy. But if the race poisons you, don't blame Auto magazine.

Petr Kavčič, photo: Sašo Kapetanovič

Technical data: Rage Hurricane / Cyclone

CAR PRICE

35.546 euros (cyclone) or 50.045 euros (hurricane)

MOTOREngine (design): 3-cylinder, four-stroke

Displacement: 1.049 / 998 cm3

Torque: for example

Power: 103/52 kW (140/70 "horsepower")

maximum speed: +190/120 km / h

Acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h: 4 s

Fuel consumption: for example

DRIVEDrive: rear, ATB differential

TRANSMISSIONcontinuously variable transmission CVT, reverse gear

CHASSISfront double A-rails with 32 mm suspension travel, rear double A-rails with 35 mm travel

PLACE IN MASLength x width x height: 2.750 x 1.780 x 1.370 mm

Empty vehicle: 550/540 kg

Brakes: front steel brake disc, Brembo brake calipers, rear steel brake disc, Brembo brake calipers

Tires: front 26˝x 9˝x 14, rear 26˝x 10˝x 14