Land Rover Defender will take part in the Dakar Rally in 2026

Land Rover has announced that from 2025 to 2028, the Defender brand will become an official partner of the Dakar Rally Rally, supporting the event with a fleet of off-road vehicles. What's more, the factory team will compete in 2026 with Defender SUVs.

Here's What We Know

Defender will race as an official factory team for the first time. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) plans to showcase the "extreme endurance and capability" of its SUVs in the world's toughest rally race. However, it is expected that the race version of the Defender will be significantly different from the production version - both in design and technical equipment.

More details about the plans of the team will be known during the Dakar Rally in 2025. Perhaps, then they will show a teaser or even a prototype of the racing Defender.

In addition to the race programme, Land Rover will provide a fleet of support vehicles - specially modified Defender cars for track inspections and transporting VIP guests. Presumably, these will be cars with reinforced suspensions and powerful engines, among which the version with 4.4-litre V8 with 635 hp is considered to be the favourite.

About Dakar Rally

The 47th season of the world's most famous rally-raid will take place from 3 to 17 January 2025. It will be the sixth race in Saudi Arabia. The competition route will stretch across the Rub al-Khali desert.

Source: Jaguar Land Rover