The Dakar Rally ended on January 14th and Audi made an impressive debut of the futuristic RS Q E-tron. In celebration of the annual event, builder Martin Josh Vala has created a series of his own rally car ideas. The Shark T1+ is the eighth in the collection and is loosely based on the SRT Rally Team’s car. With some help on the suspension from his friend Dariusz Sędziak, this model is ready to hit the track. Its sleek body and high front end ensure a fighting chance against the competitors.
I know it may be a bit confusing: the latest BX T1+ by Martin Vala looks way too clean for a Dakar rally car. There are no patches of sand all over the fenders, no dents from multiple high-speed accidents. But let’s seize the moment and enjoy the brilliant design of the car’s body and chassis before it starts its journey among the dunes. The neat combination of LEGO Technic wheel arch panels with System elements is perfect, but I genuinely wonder what the car would look like with different liveries, such as sponsors’ logos and a racing number. This would totally take this particularly realistic build to the whole other level.
And if you feel like checking out Martins’ Flickr gallery, do not miss out on the additional shots of the car revealing the chassis.
Based on shelled animals such as mollusks, Martin Vala has created this complex build. The model has a carefully structured shell that twists around, forming swirling patterns. Ball joints and sockets have been used to portray this formation with smooth angled pieces representing the rounded parts of the shell.
The top-down view lets you really appreciate the shaping of the model. The shadowy tentacles at the front make it all the more terrifying as they splay out in various directions with a small, haunting mouth at the centre. Hopefully, this creature’s personality doesn’t match its appearance.
Martin Vala tells us he was looking for “some quick joy”. I think he found it in the Can-Am Maverick RS buggy. I would love to drive this thing hard while hopping along sand dunes! Martin tells us he whipped this up in only two nights and thankfully just in time for the Dakar Rally races coming up January 2nd through the 14th. It would seem this particular LEGO builder has been off our radar until now. However, a quick perusal through his Flickr photostream proves he’s going to be a builder we’ll surely keep a close eye on from now on.
See it in glorious detail from nearly every angle with this short video.
