This is it: the first true rally Defender!
New player in familiar territory
In January 2026, Defender will enter the arena of the Dakar Rally as well as the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) for the first time as a factory team. The basis? The rugged Defender Dakar D7X-R, which shares its genes with the regular Defender – including the aluminum D7x platform and a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 under the hood.
Test phase
The special rally Defender is still in the testing phase, and Land Rover is now sharing some pictures of it. The very first test miles took place in the Sahara Desert. With bright sun, loose sand and treacherous dunes, the environment provided ideal conditions for gauging how the new rally weapon holds up under extreme pressure.
Land Rover has announced – in addition to a few tasty snapshots – the names of the first two drivers who will soon get behind the wheel. And they immediately attract a legend of stature: Stéphane Peterhansel, also known as “Mr. Dakar. The now 59-year-old Frenchman won the Dakar no less than fourteen times, on both two and four wheels.
His teammate is 25-year-old Rokas Baciuška from Lithuania – a young up-and-coming talent with already a world title in the T4 class of the W2RC and several podium finishes at Dakar behind his name.
Stock, but on steroids
The Defender comes out in the so-called Stock category – a class for vehicles based on existing production models. In other words, the Dakar version looks more like the showroom version than you might think. It is not surprising that the British brand chooses this class: it is the way to show that a Defender is not only a luxury toy for footballers, but also a true desert knight.
Just a little more patience
The full lineup of the Defender Rally team – including a third driver and the navigators – will be revealed later this year. The final design of the car is also still some time away, as the car in the photos in this article is still wearing a camouflage jacket. What we do already know: the rally cars are being built at JLR’s factory in Nitra, Slovakia, and the test program is already in full swing.
Also read: