Toyota has completed construction of its DKR GR FC Hilux and begun dynamic testing ahead of the 2027 Dakar Rally. The hydrogen fuel-cell prototype is destined for Dakar Future Mission 1000, a category reserved for experimental vehicles and technologies. Saudi rally driver Dania Akeel will help develop the car and drive it in its first competition.
The project starts with the established DKR GR Hilux racing platform. Its tubular frame, safety cell, suspension and brakes carry over, but the combustion powertrain makes way for a dedicated electric drive system. Two fuel-cell stacks work together to provide a quoted system output of 400 kW. Four high-pressure hydrogen tanks of the type used in the Toyota Mirai hold 8.4 kg of hydrogen in total. An e-axle, IAV Dragoon controller and redesigned high-voltage cooling arrangement complete the principal changes.
There are meaningful compromises behind those figures. The prototype is 4.5 metres long and 2.3 metres wide, with 350 mm of suspension travel and a stated overall weight below 2,500 kg. Its body uses both carbon fibre and natural-fibre panels, the latter replacing some conventional composite components.
Toyota's European research centre near Brussels worked with Overdrive Racing, Toyota Racing in Cologne and teams in Japan on the vehicle. Akeel brings substantial rally-raid experience, including a Dakar Challenger stage victory in 2025. Toyota describes the project as its first full-fledged motorsport entry using a hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle.
The distinction between an experimental entry and a proven race winner matters. The vehicle is undergoing tests, and Toyota has not yet demonstrated that the fuel-cell system will withstand an entire Dakar under competitive conditions. It produces no tailpipe CO₂ while running, but the environmental effect of hydrogen also depends on how the fuel is made. For now, the desert programme is a demanding engineering test of durability, cooling and operating a fuel-cell system far from the workshop.