Toyota GAZOO Racing announced the entry of the DKR GR FC Hilux, a hydrogen electric vehicle, in the 2027 Dakar Rally. The new prototype will compete in the experimental Dakar Future Mission 1000 category, a format with 1,000 timed kilometres spread over thirteen stages where manufacturers test alternative propulsion technologies without competing for the overall classification. The DKR GR Hilux with a V6 biturbo petrol engine will remain Toyota's weapon in the Ultimate category to fight for the outright victory in Saudi Arabia from January 1 to 15.

Photo By Toyota Gazoo Racing

The FCEV project leverages the platform of the Hilux T1+ that has delivered such good results for the team, but completely replaces the combustion powertrain. Instead of an engine that burns petrol or hydrogen, this prototype stores hydrogen in high‑pressure tanks and reacts it with oxygen inside the fuel cell to generate electricity. That electricity powers one or more electric motors, and the only by‑product of the process is water vapour. Unlike the hydrogen combustion engines that Toyota has already tested in the Japanese Super Taikyu series with the GR Corolla H2 or on the stages of the Monte Carlo Rally with the GR Yaris Rally2 H2 Concept, here there is no explosion inside a cylinder because all the drive comes from electric motors fed by the electricity generated by the fuel cell.

Photo By Toyota Gazoo Racing

Toyota's previous experience with hydrogen in the Dakar came with the HySE-X1 and HySE-X2 buggies, which completed the Mission 1000 category in 2024 and 2025. Those vehicles used hydrogen combustion engines and were entered by HySE, a technical consortium in which Toyota participates alongside other Japanese manufacturers. The DKR GR FC Hilux goes a step further because it is the first time Toyota has taken on the project with its own racing structure and applied a fuel cell system. Engineers are already working in Belgium on the powertrain and software calibration, with a testing programme that will intensify in the coming months. The focus is on reducing the size of the fuel cell, improving cooling and ensuring the durability of components over two weeks of dunes, rocks and extreme temperatures.

Photo By Toyota Gazoo Racing

Toyota has turned the Dakar into a laboratory for more than a decade. The Hilux first won in 2019 with Nasser Al‑Attiyah, repeated in 2022 and 2023 with the same driver, and added another victory in 2025 with Yazeed Al‑Rajhi at the wheel of an Overdrive Racing entry. That track record underpins the decision to use the same race to test hydrogen in real‑world conditions. The company champions a multi‑path philosophy that includes hybrids, plug‑in hybrids, battery electric vehicles, hydrogen combustion engines and fuel cell vehicles. In the sporting arena, that strategy has translated into a range that extends from the GR010 HYBRID in the WEC to the GR Yaris Rally2 H2 Concept, the GR Corolla H2 in Super Taikyu, and now the DKR GR FC Hilux. The 2027 Dakar will show whether this technology is ready to leave the laboratory and begin traversing the real world with nothing more than a trail of water vapour on the sand.