The cars racing in the top class of the Dakar Rally are purpose-built racers that have very little to do with the vehicles you and I can buy. For instance that “Hilux” you cheer for is hand-built in a motorsport workshop and has a tubular frame chassis covered by a composite body styled to look like Toyota’s popular double cab.
From 2026 the world-famous cross country marathon is introducing a new Stock category for production-based cars, and Land Rover is one of the first entrants.
Defender will compete with a works team as part of a three-year FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) campaign, beginning in 2026. Its Defender Dakar D7X-R prototype made its public debut on the Goodwood Festival of Speed Hillclimb last weekend.
The D7X-R is a competition version of the high-performance Defender 110 Octa that was launched in SA earlier this year. Powered by the Octa’s 4.4l twin-turbo V8 engine, it is built on Land Rover’s regular assembly line after which the company’s motorsport department gives it tweaks allowed by Dakar rules to make it more suited to the rigours of racing in the desert.
For its three-car Dakar team Land Rover has signed 14-time Dakar winner Stéphane Peterhansel from France, along with rising stars Sara Price from the US and Rokas Baciuška from Lithuania.
Peterhansel is the most successful competitor in the history of the Dakar Rally and his record 14 victories include six on motorcycles, all with Yamaha. After switching to cars in 1999 he has won the race with three different manufacturers: Mitsubishi (three times), Mini (three times) and Peugeot (twice).
Four-time Dakar stage winner Price made her Dakar Rally debut in 2024 in the SSV class, becoming the third woman to win a stage in the event after Jutta Kleinschmidt and Cristina Gutiérrez. She went on to finish fourth overall in the rally and won the title for best rookie.
Baciuška is an up-and-coming talent, who has competed in three Dakar Rallies and was crowned the 2022 FIA World Rally-Raid Champion in the T4 class.
Peterhansel and Price were at Goodwood last weekend to demonstrate the Defender D7X-R. The first prototype was tested in the sand dunes of Morocco in April. The second, presented at Goodwood, features upgrades and is closer in spec to the official competition car due to be unveiled later this year. The updates include 17” wheels fitted with 35” tyres, increased track width and ride height, an upgraded steering rack and a free flow exhaust.
The 2026 Dakar Rally will be held in Saudi Arabia from January 3-17.
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