- Land Rover has confirmed the first Defender works team for the famous Dakar Rally.
- The company will compete at the 2026 event, but will share more information in 2025.
- The Defender brand will also supply a fleet of support vehicles for Dakar starting in 2025.
Land Rover has announced that a Defender rally car will tackle Dakar in 2026. Furthermore, the Defender brand will be the official Dakar car partner between 2025 and 2028, supporting the events with a fleet of SUVs.
The Defender has always been known for its off-road credentials, but this is the first time an official Defender works team enters the Dakar Rally.
More: Audi Q6 Sportback E-Tron Prototype Looks Wild In Dakar-Inspired Spec
The goal of JLR is to prove the Defender’s “extreme durability and capability in the world’s most demanding off‑road competition”. Still, the rally car will most likely mark a significant departure from the production model, both in terms of design and technical specifications.
The Defender works team is led by JLR Motorsport Managing Director, James Barclay, who said: “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.”
The team boss revealed that more information about the program will be shared during the 2025 Dakar Rally. Hopefully, this will include a teaser or an official preview of the Defender-badged rally raid racer.
Besides the competition entry, Land Rover will supply a fleet of Defender support vehicles for Dakar Rally officials and VIP media starting in 2025 and through to 2028. The company will also supply six “highly specialized recce vehicles” to test routes for future events.
These modified Defenders with likely feature off-road accessories and carry the necessary gear for the job. It is not clear which trim of the SUV will serve as a base, but our choice would be the Defender Octa with the beefier suspension and the twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 generating 626 hp (467 kW / 635 PS).
Dubbed as “the world’s toughest rally raid event”, the 2025 Dakar Rally will take place between January 3 and 17. The 47th edition of the event will be held in Saudi Arabia, following a demanding route stretching from Bisha to Shubaytah, through the desert of Empty Quarter.
