The 36th edition of the world’s toughest rally-raid was held in South America. Kamaz trucks won in the truck category. They were powered by Liebherr
16.2L engines.

The 36th edition of the world’s toughest rally-raid was held in January 2015 across three South American countries. The 14-day test of skill, determination and vehicle reliability was flagged off from Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina and culminated in the same city after passing through Chile and Bolivia. The total distance was 9,111 km and consisted of 4,580 km of special stages. Trucks had to cover 8,159 km, with the special stages aggregating 3,760 km. Divided into 13 stages, and for the first time in the history of Dakar, the rest days for cars and trucks were separate from others. The addition of marathon stages was a special feature of the 2015 edition. Out of the 63 trucks, 43 finished. The Kamaz factory achieved a hat-trick after the truck commanded by Airaat Mardeev, Aydar Belyadev and Dimitriy Svistunov dominated the second half of the rally and won two stages. The second Kamaz was under Eduard Nikolaev, Evgeny Yakovlev and Ruslan Akhmadeev, and won six stages while the team of Andrey Karginov, Andrey Mokeev and Igor Leonov made it to the third spot on the podium with a consistent performance.

In January 2014, the Liebherr Group and Kamaz OJSC signed a contract to develop and manufacture a range of 6-cylinder diesel engines with 12-litre displacement. The engines would be tailored by Liebherr to meet specific requirements from Kamaz. The contract also included a complete solution for the construction of an engine production and assembly line as well as respective quality assurance within Kamaz’s production. The main factors for Kamaz’s decision to work with Liebherr as a development partner were, on one hand, the modern engine concept with a good power to weight ratio and, on the other, the impressive strategy to comply with the emissions directives of Euro 5 and Euro 6. Liebherr has more than 30 years of experience in the development and production of diesel engines for heavy applications and tough climatic operating conditions. The engines are part of a comprehensive programme that entails development, design and manufacture within Liebherr’s components division. Among these are high performing components in the areas of mechanical, hydraulic, and electric drive and control technology for diesel and gas engines; injection systems, axial piston machines, hydraulic pumps and motors, hydraulic cylinders, oversized bearings, gearboxes and winches, electric machines, switchgear as well as electric and electronic components and systems. Diverse areas of application include cranes, construction machinery, mining equipment, marine equipment, wind turbines, decentralised energy systems, vehicle and agricultural technology, and aerospace and traffic engineering.