Toyota Gives the New Hilux a Rally Makeover for 2026 Dakar

Nicely, that didn’t take lengthy. Toyota pulled the covers off the brand new Hilux final week, and it’s already introducing the rally model. As you’ll be able to think about, it has been quietly engaged on the DKR GR Hilux for some time to have it prepared for the upcoming 2026 Dakar Rally. Based mostly on the ninth-generation truck, the DKR GR Hilux brings a number of main upgrades over its predecessor.

Toyota collaborated with Belgium-based Overdrive Racing to carry the challenge to fruition forward of the 2026 Dakar Rally’s begin in Saudi Arabia on January 3. The brand new DKR GR Hilux includes a newly developed tubular chassis that reduces weight and will increase torsional stiffness. It additionally makes the rally-ready pickup simpler to service, saving valuable time throughout the grueling race.

Moreover, the revamped rally truck receives a bolstered transmission designed to raised face up to the abuse of the 15-day Dakar occasion, throughout which it would cowl greater than 3,000 miles (4,828 kilometers) of timed levels. Earlier than the primary race day, the 2026 DKR GR Hilux is finishing a take a look at program to permit for any vital last-minute tweaks.

Particulars concerning the engine haven’t been disclosed, however the 2025 GR DKR Hilux Evo borrowed the Land Cruiser’s twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6 with 354 horsepower and 457 pound-feet (620 Newton-meters) of torque. Output was despatched to all 4 wheels by means of a six-speed sequential gearbox.

Picture by: Toyota

The TGR W2RC crew will subject the brand new rally truck earlier than Toyota makes it obtainable to personal groups within the second half of subsequent yr. The DKR GR Hilux is clearly not going to be street authorized, however a efficiency model with a license plate and wider tracks is probably going coming. When requested by CarExpert journal whether or not a GR Sport is deliberate, Toyota Australia chief designer Nicolas Hogios strongly prompt it’s an actual risk:

‘That’s, I suppose, sooner or later. However yeah, we’ll get to that – in the meanwhile, there’s sufficient information right here with this one. It may solely get higher from right here. So, we’re consistently evolving our product.’

Nonetheless, GR Sport is a step beneath a full-fat Gazoo Racing mannequin, that means there aren’t any engine upgrades. The previous Hilux GR Sport II did obtain a big selection of mechanical adjustments, from a suspension carry and monotube dampers to larger brakes and lighter wheels with all-terrain tires.

However with the next-generation Hilux solely simply arriving, Toyota is in no hurry to launch the brand new GR Sport.