Toyota’s Land Cruiser GR Sport Rally Raid Is an Ode to the Dakar Rally

Toyota has a long, rich history in the Dakar Rally, having won multiple victories in numerous categories. Now, the automaker is celebrating that legacy with a new Land Cruiser that’s ready for desert racing, too, if not for competing in Dakar.

The Land Cruiser GR Sport Rally Raid was made with the express purpose of creating “a car that can be driven quickly and safely on any road surface without tiring,” according to Toyota driver Akira Miura. Miura would know, having won in the Dakar Rally four times as driver, in addition to once as a navigator. Just 12 of the SUVs will be made, in addition to 12 conversion kits.

The desert-focussed Land Cruiser includes upgrades over the Land Cruiser GR Sport such as 18-inch alloy wheels and all-terrain Toyo tires. Ornaments and mud flaps have the Rally Raid logo. The Land Cruiser GR Sport Rally Raid also has, “suspension and cab mounts that faithfully receive the driver’s intentions and steer the vehicle exactly as desired, and seats that maintain the driver’s posture even on harsh terrain,” according to Toyota. Think: more stiffness in general and a version of racing seats.

The Land Cruiser GR Sport Rally Raid is powered by a twin-turbo, 3.6-liter diesel engine that makes 304 horsepower and 516 ft lb of torque, which is mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission. All four wheels are powered.

The SUV costs ¥9,380,800, or around $63,500, according to Toyota. The conversion kit for existing owners of Land Cruiser GR Sports is ¥1,511,400, or around $10,200. As the currencies suggest, this edition will only be sold in Japan. Interested buyers can enter a lottery between now and September 28 for both the full car and the conversion kit. Winners will be contacted by their dealers in Japan.

After that, of course, they can start getting ready for next year’s Dakar. The Dakar Rally began in 1979 as a race from Paris to Dakar, Senegal. It has since been held on other continents, including in South America for more than a decade beginning in 2009 and, since, 2020, in Saudi Arabia. This year’s rally will be held there in January and cover 8,000 kilometers, or around 5,000 miles.