GAZOO Racing has confirmed Jameel Motorsport, DENSO, TOYO TIRES and IAV as official partners for its fuel cell entry in the 2027 Dakar Rally. The DKR GR FC Hilux will run in the Dakar Future Mission 1000 class, a category reserved for experimental machinery, when the event is held in Saudi Arabia on 1-15 January 2027. It is the first time Toyota has taken hydrogen and fuel cell technology into a motorsport programme.

Toyota’s competition arm has lined up four technical and commercial partners behind its hydrogen-powered Dakar prototype. Jameel Motorsport, DENSO, TOYO TIRES and IAV all join the DKR GR FC Hilux project, which is being prepared for the 2027 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia, running from 1 to 15 January 2027.

A Hilux with the engine taken out

The car is derived from the DKR GR Hilux that already competes in the Dakar’s top category. In place of the petrol engine sits Toyota’s fuel cell system, and the company says the vehicle emits no CO₂ while driving, with water as its only tailpipe emission.

Development is being handled through Toyota’s European research and development centre near Brussels, Belgium, and final assembly is under way at the company’s European headquarters ahead of a pre-Dakar test programme.

Why the Mission 1000 class matters

The DKR GR FC Hilux is entered in Dakar Future Mission 1000, the category set aside for experimental vehicles and demonstrations of new technology rather than outright victory. Cars in the class tackle 13 stages covering a total of 1,000 competitive kilometres (621 miles) — a fraction of the distance the main field covers, but over the same punishing terrain.

That makes it a useful proving ground. Toyota says the aim is to demonstrate the performance, safety and reliability of fuel cell technology in the harsh conditions of the Dakar, and it describes the project as the first time it has combined hydrogen and fuel cell technology in its motorsport activities.

Four partners, four reasons

Jameel Motorsport brings a Saudi connection to an event now permanently based in the kingdom. Managing Director Munir Khoja framed the deal in terms of the country’s long-term economic plan:

“In alignment with Saudi Vision 2030, we believe hydrogen has a vital role to play alongside other zero-emission solutions in the motorsport arena, and we are proud to help demonstrate, at the highest levels of competition and engineering, that performance and sustainability can go hand in hand.”

DENSO, the Toyota-affiliated supplier, sees the entry as a technology showcase. “The DKR GR FC Hilux and Mission 1000 represent an inspiring opportunity to demonstrate the potential of hydrogen technology under demanding conditions,” said Kenichiro Ito, CEO of DENSO INTERNATIONAL EUROPE.

TOYO TIRES is represented by Junichi Uda, Corporate Officer and Division General Manager, Product Planning Division, who said the company had decided to back the project because it “fully shares and endorses its objectives”.

German engineering house IAV contributes control electronics. “We are proud that IAV’s product ECU Dragoon powered by our software stack is part of this demanding mission,” said Chief Executive Officer Jörg Astalosch, adding that the company has been developing fuel cell technologies for many years.

What it means

Hydrogen remains a niche route to zero-emission driving, and Toyota is one of the few manufacturers still pushing it hard on both road and track. Rally raid suits the argument reasonably well: long distances, remote refuelling points and heavy vehicles are exactly the conditions where battery-electric machinery struggles most. Whether the DKR GR FC Hilux can survive two weeks of Saudi desert is the question the entry exists to answer.

Toyota has not published power, torque, weight, hydrogen storage or range figures for the car. The prototype is due to complete its test programme before the rally starts on 1 January 2027.

Facts: Toyota DKR GR FC Hilux

  • Powertrain: Toyota fuel cell system, replacing the petrol engine of the DKR GR Hilux
  • Emissions: No CO₂ while driving; water only at the tailpipe, according to Toyota
  • Category: Dakar Future Mission 1000 (experimental vehicles)
  • Event: Dakar Rally, Saudi Arabia, 1-15 January 2027
  • Distance: 13 stages, 1,000 competitive kilometres (621 miles)
  • Development: Toyota European R&D centre near Brussels, Belgium
  • Official partners: Jameel Motorsport, DENSO, TOYO TIRES, IAV

The car is being finished at Toyota’s European headquarters ahead of testing, with its competitive debut set for the start of the 2027 Dakar Rally on 1 January.

Source: newsroom.toyota.eu