Overview
- Toyota’s Gazoo Racing announced earlier this week that it will field the DKR GR FC Hilux in the Dakar Future Mission 1000 experimental class for the 1–15 January 2027 rally in Saudi Arabia.
- The team has begun bench validation of the fuel-cell powertrain and control software in Belgium and says full track testing will follow in the coming months before the Dakar entry.
- The prototype marks Toyota’s first use of fuel-cell stacks in motorsport, a change from its earlier hydrogen projects that used internal-combustion engines running on hydrogen.
- Toyota will continue to run its conventional petrol DKR Hilux in the Ultimate class while using the FCEV to focus on downsizing the fuel cell, cooling, durability and energy-management under rally conditions.
- The manufacturer says lessons from Dakar will inform passenger, commercial, rail, marine and stationary power applications and could speed real-world adoption if the tests prove the system’s durability and cooling solutions.