There’s Already A Dakar Version Of The New Toyota Hilux

It was only last week that the brand new ninth-generation Toyota Hilux was unveiled to the world, but already there’s a racing version: Toyota has unveiled the updated GR DKR Hilux, its latest contender for the fearsome Dakar Rally.

Now, the Hilux and the Dakar have plenty of recent history. Since Toyota first started entering it as a factory concern in 2016, racing versions of the legendary tough truck have won the event four times, most recently this year, and have earned Toyota the manufacturers’ honours in the last four World Rally-Raid Championships.

There’s a lot riding on the updated car, then, which adopts the pointy frontal styling of the new road-going Hilux. Like previous versions, though, that’s about all it shares with the actual production truck. Really, it’s a bespoke racing prototype, based for 2026 around an updated tubeframe chassis that’s lighter, stiffer and allows for easier access to crucial mechanical bits.

The transmission has been reinforced too, so that it’s now able to withstand ‘extreme loads’ (read: being launched off a sand dune the size of a medium-sized office block). 

Toyota doesn’t make any other mention of the powertrain, so we assume it’s the same as the outgoing DKR Hilux: a 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 pushing 354bhp and 457lb ft to all four wheels via a six-speed sequential ’box. Bit different to the choice of a diesel four-banger or EV power offered for the regular truck, then.

The updated truck’s competition debut is just over a month away, with the 2026 Dakar – which these days takes place in Saudi Arabia – ringing in the new year when it kicks off on 3 January. Three cars will be entered by the Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally-Raid Championship team (helpfully abbreviated to TGR W2RC), piloted by Henk Lategan, Seth Quintero and Toby Price, and facing competition from fellow factory entrants Ford and Dacia. Given Toyota’s recent form at the event, though, we suspect the new Hilux is up to the challenge.