Toyota’s Gazoo Racing arm has announced plans to field a hydrogen-powered prototype in the 2027 Dakar Rally.

Christened the DKR GR FC Hilux, the car incorporates fuel cell technology into the pick-up that has become the benchmark in the World Rally-Raid Championship. 

It will be entered in the Dakar Future Mission 1000 category, which is reserved for experimental vehicles and new technologies. Toyota will continue to race the regular petrol-powered DKR Hilux, the model on which the fuel cell version is based, in the Dakar’s Ultimate class.

The Japanese manufacturer said that it has already begun testing the fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV)  powertrain in Belgium. A full test programme will follow in the “coming months” once the construction of the car is complete.

It hopes the lessons it will learn in the world’s toughest cross-country rally will “contribute to the wider application of fuel cell technology in passenger cars, trucks, buses, trains, marine applications, race cars and stationary power generators.”

Toyota has long been a pioneer of hydrogen propulsion, an effort spearheaded by chairman Akio Toyoda. 

Toyota GR Yaris H2

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

It first began using hydrogen technology in motorsport in 2021, when Rookie Racing ran a hydrogen-engined Corolla H2 in Japan’s Super Taikya series. The car was further upgraded in 2023, with liquid hydrogen replacing hydrogen gas as its fuel.

Toyota has also completed several demonstration runs with the GR Yaris H2 in the World Rally Championship, while Kazuki Nakajima took the wheel of the TR LH2 Racing Prototype for a few laps at the Circuit de la Sarthe on the eve of this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours.

However, while those three vehicles use internal combustion engines running on hydrogen, the DKR GR FC Hilux marks the first time Toyota has employed fuel cell technology in motorsport. 

Instead of burning hydrogen inside a combustion chamber, the fuel cell combines hydrogen with oxygen to generate electricity, which then powers an electric motor. 

As a result, the DKR GR FC Hilux produces no carbon dioxide at the tailpipe, with water its only direct emission. 

The 2027 Dakar Rally is scheduled from 1 -15 January 2027 in Saudi Arabia.

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- The Motorsport.com Team