Land Rover heads to Dakar in 2026

Damien O'Carroll
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Land Rover's upcoming high-performance off-roader, the Defender Octa, will form the basis of a new Dakar and FIA World Rally Raid Championship competition challenger from 2026, a move the company says will showcase the Octa's "extreme performance credentials in the world’s toughest off-road events."

The company will run a two-vehicle entry of competition-spec Defender Octas across the full five rounds of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) under the ‘Stock’ category for production-based vehicles, and a three-vehicle entry in the championship’s halo event, the Dakar Rally, from 2026.

The new Defender Octa will form the basis of a rally-raid entrant for JLR.

The move follows the introduction of the rugged all-terrain/high performance Octa (think of it as a cross between a Ford Ranger Raptor and a Mercedes-AMG G 63) and new regulations from the FIA aimed at making the ‘Stock’ category significantly more competitive in 2026.

Land Rover says that the FIA and Dakar organisers are responding to the growing popularity of high-performance 4x4s and SUVs and that increased performance these new regulations permit make the Stock category "perfect to authentically demonstrate Defender’s extreme durability and capability."

The Octa uses a specifically tuned version of the BMW-supplied twin-turbo 4.4-litre V8.

"Taking on the most demanding rally-raid event in the world represents the ultimate test of our most extreme Defender to date," says Mark Cameron, Defender Managing Director.

"We know that Dakar will be an immense challenge, but Defender Octa combines huge performance with characteristic Defender capability and durability – the perfect foundations for what I’m confident will be a highly competitive rally-raid vehicle."

The competition-spec Defender Octa will retain the production vehicle's robust D7x body architecture that is based on a lightweight aluminium monocoque construction that the company says is three times stronger than traditional ‘body-on-frame’ designs and provides impressive torsional rigidity.

New regulations for 2026 have made it more appealing for JLR to make a move into the W2RC.

As well as the body architecture, the specially prepared competition vehicles will also share the production Octa's transmission and driveline layout – as per the Dakar and W2RC’s regulations – including the BMW-sourced 4.4-litre twin turbo V8 engine.

James Barclay, JLR Motorsport Managing Director says that Defender competing in Dakar will be an "incredibly exciting challenge" and that aligning with the ASO (Amaury Sport Organisation, the organiser of the Dakar and W2RC), FIA and other manufacturers to create the new regulations for the ‘Stock’ category has been "incredibly positive."

"We had a vision for the future of production-based vehicles in rally-raid," said Barclay.

Testing is already underway for the 2026 entry.

"We now have the right platform to authentically demonstrate Defender’s capability in the biggest challenge in off-road motorsport. Ahead of us is a year of detailed preparation, testing and learning to be ready for Dakar 2026. The team are already well underway and we are very much looking forward to competing in both Dakar and W2RC – the world’s toughest off-road events."

The company says that a competition test and development programme is already "well underway" and it will culminate in test events and a full team launch later this year ahead of Dakar and the FIA World Rally Raid Championship in 2026.

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