The British firm will enter into the 2026 Dakar season with its most capable and toughest car in its line-up.
Land Rover had revealed that it will be entering into the 2026 season of the famous Dakar rally with a Defender.
The firm has undergone a partnership agreement that will supply a fleet of support vehicles for Dakar rally officials and VIP media from 2025 until 2028.
But, in the meantime, the company is undergoing work for an official Land Rover Defender Dakar rally car that will compete in one of the toughest rallies on earth – starting at the beginning of 2026. Further details on the car are yet to be announced.
This will be the first time the British firm has entered the Dakar rally and it should lean into the Defender’s strong and capable off-road nature in one of the world’s toughest environments.
Mark Cameron, the Defender’s managing director, said: “Our partnership begins in 2025 when Defender will showcase its capability and durability as the official car of the event, but we are already looking to the future and entering a Defender Dakar Works team from 2026.
“That Defender Dakar works programme will be led by James Barclay, JLR Motorsport managing director, and I know James and his team are inspired by the challenge that lays ahead.”
The official Land Rover Defender Dakar rally car will be revealed during the Dakar 2025 season – which commences from January 3 to January 25.
By Cameron Richards