As you know, the solo version of The Great Race will play the rivalry between André Citroën and Louis Renault in the field of communication.
After styling the Citroën pole and its Kegresse halftrack while crossing the Sahara aboard a 6-wheel vehicle in just 5 days instead of 14, Louis Renault was determined to bite the dust once again its great rival at the start of the "Croisière Noire".
Better known under the name of "Mission Gradis", the remarkable 6-wheeled vehicles left Colomb Béchar on November 14, 16 days after the Citroën mission of the "Croisière Noire".
Under the protection of three Breguet planes (with Renault engines), they arrived in Bourem in just 11 days. They then crossed the Niger river and 700 km further on, they reached Cotonou. Each car was accompanied by 4 armed legionaries who also knew how to drive.
However, history will only remember the journey of the "Croisière Noire", Citroën showing itself to be better communicator in the end.
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