Four wheels, no rules(2)

Off-road enthusiast Wu Dianhua says when he drives in rocky, rural areas, his vehicle can get up to 12 meters of air time. Photo: Courtesy of Zhang Yajun

Built for the open road

Vehicles straying from paved avenues have to be equipped to take a beating. Wu says when driving through rocky terrain, his car will often get air for up to 12 meters, going as high as 4 meters from the ground. Factory standard vehicles can't handle rough landings like this, so Wu has created a highly-customized car.

"It's a DIY-ed machine. Its frame used to be part of a Toyota, its shock absorbers were made by Nissan, and the other parts came from different vehicles," said Wu. He's poured most of his savings from owning an auto repair shop into this pricey passion project.

Wu said his off-road vehicle has been deemed safe by the Federation of Automobile Sports of the People's Republic of China. However, he can only drive it during off-roading events, and has to hitch it to an ordinary truck on roads.

"According to the traffic laws in China, any modification to automobiles is strictly banned. And here comes the dilemma for every off-road racer: ordinary, unmodified cars can't go off-road, while modified off-road vehicles are banned from normal roads," Wu said.

Ren recalled being stopped by police when driving his modified car as he came home from a competition in Shandong Province.

"I tried to explain that I was participating in a race held by the local government. It wasn't until I provided him with the related paperwork that he let me go. He warned me not to make the same mistake next time," said Ren.

"To be honest, these vehicles aren't suitable for urban roads," Zhang said. "They consume more oil to gain more power, and they sacrifice comfort for racing seats. They were made to run wild."

The road ahead

Zhang said these limits on modifying cars has kept the sport very niche.

Another limitation is the lack of sponsors. In Western countries, automobile enterprises help to organize and sponsor off-road events to promote their brand. However, according to Zhang, car manu­factures never have to worry about their sales in China. "China is such a big market, car manufacturers can always find customers, so they seldom sponsor off-road events," said Zhang.

To get more people involved, Zhang helped organize the Beijing Tour, which sticks to less extreme terrain so anyone with an SUV can join in. Last year, the event attracted about 300 participants.

Wu says he sees the sport gaining new followers. "More and more rich people are joining this sport. Some even purchase professional vehicles used by Dakar Rally Raid," Wu said. "This sport is definitely growing in China."