In 2024, 182 cars completed the Dakar Rally. Which sounds impressive, until you realize that those 182 cars come from a total of 340 entrants. So yeah, it’s a really big, really scary race. And so Land Rover must clearly hate its Defender, because it has decided to enter its 4x4 into this really big, really scary race. The event also just happens to be the toughest rally on planet Earth.
So it’s official: From 2026, a Land Rover Defender will race in the Dakar Rally. Oh, boy.
Obviously, we joke. Land Rover must clearly really believe in its Defender and indeed its chances in the 2026 race. In an official statement, the carmaker said: “Defender’s commitment will prove its extreme durability and capability in the world’s most demanding off-road competition.”
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Outside of that short spiel, nothing has been revealed about the 2026 Dakar-spec’d Defender. Maybe they’ll just take a V8 engine, put on a set of chonky tires, set the aircon to max, and go racing. We’ll find out in due course.
Before 2026 comes 2025, and in 2025 Land Rover will be the ‘official car partner’ of the Dakar Rally, which means it’ll provide a fleet of Defenders to support the event. They’ll have jobs like transporting racers and other VIPs around, while six Defenders will be specially modified to “test routes for future Dakar events.”
“Anyone who loves motorsport will have a passion for Dakar,” said Jaguar Land Rover motorsport head James Barclay. “It’s the Everest of motorsport and an event where success is dependent as much on human determination in the toughest of conditions as it is the ultimate test for vehicle and engineering capability. Bringing the world's most capable and iconic 4x4 to the world's most iconic rally-raid is a perfect fit.
“Our first time ever with a factory entry into the Dakar means we are right at the beginning of our journey. We are conscious of how much we have to learn and achieve before taking the start in 2026, but we are already well under way and looking forward to the adventure. We will share more details of this exciting program at the Dakar Rally in 2025.”
NOTE: This story first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
