The reality of a breakdown during the hostile Dakar
The Dakar Rally is often portrayed as a heroic clash between man, machine and an unforgiving wilderness.
- Industry News
- 14 December 2025
SVI Engineering, the specialist manufacturer of armoured products, added a scraper to clear road barricades during riots.
Designed from scratch, the SVI anti-riot scraper more than meets the requirements by enabling standard vehicles, like the Toyota Land Cruiser 79, to safely clear a path through the debris to allow security and medical personnel access to critical locations.
The SVI anti-riot scraper and hydraulic power pack come as a unit for easy installation in a couple of hours. The weight of around 100 kg is comparable to a standard bulbar and winch fitted to many off-road vehicles.
Functioning as a normal bumper in the raised position, it can be hydraulically lowered (and raised) by pressing a button inside the cabin. Different angles of attack are available, depending on the obstacle that needs to be moved.
A fire-extinguishing option is available that can be fitted to the blade to extinguish burning objects as the vehicle approaches them.
The first unit is now available for the Toyota Land Cruiser 79 (and its MAX 3 derivative), but SVI can adapt the system for many other vehicles upon request. SVI is currently developing a version for the Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger bakkies.
The SVI scraper takes 4 weeks to manufacture from order, and installation is completed in less than a day. The retail cost for the SVI anti-riot scraper for the Land Cruiser 79 is R64 995, excluding VAT.
The Dakar Rally is often portrayed as a heroic clash between man, machine and an unforgiving wilderness.
For South Africa, this race is more than just a contest of speed and endurance: it is a showcase of local engineering excellence.
Stellantis and Bolt have announced a partnership to jointly explore the development and deployment of Level 4 autonomous vehicles for commercial operations across Europe, marking a significant step to bring driverless mobility to the continent's streets.
Advertisement
Advertisement
You can't buy happiness but you can buy cars and that's kind of the same thing.
Unknown
The Dakar Rally is often portrayed as a heroic clash between man, machine and an unforgiving wilderness.
For South Africa, this race is more than just a contest of speed and endurance: it is a showcase of local engineering excellence.
Stellantis and Bolt have announced a partnership to jointly explore the development and deployment of Level 4 autonomous vehicles for commercial operations across Europe, marking a significant step to bring driverless mobility to the continent's streets.