Toyota fuel cell prototype set for Dakar Rally

Don't think Toyota is moving quickly enough with FCEVs? New GR FC Hilux is meant to prove it's ready for anything

By Sam Sheehan / Monday, 13 July 2026 / Loading comments

Toyota will endeavour to bring water to the desert next year when it fields a fuel cell-powered Hilux in the Future Mission 1000 class of the Dakar Rally. While it’s not the first FCEV to compete in Dakar’s alternative energy class - that honour went to France’s GCK Motorsport back in 2024 - or even GR’s first involvement with an H2-powered entrant, it will be the first time a major manufacturer has made the switch as a factory outfit, meaning there’s a more direct link between the lessons learned by Gazoo Racing on the sand and development of its tech for future roadgoing vehicles than ever before.

Still, given that Toyota was once a trailblazer for hydrogen fuel cell tech, putting the first mass-produced FCEV available to buy, the Mirai, on sale back in 2014, it’s perhaps surprising to note that the Hilux is its first FCEV to face the Saudi dunes. But Toyota seems to be making up for lost time as it’s been on a bit of a roll this year, not only demonstrating the potential of liquid hydrogen with its TR LH2 Racing Prototype at Le Mans 24 Hours, but also actually racing the first liquid-hydrogen-powered GR Corolla in the Super Taikyu Series. That car uses a modified version of the road car’s (and GR Yaris’s)1.6-litre three-pot.

By contrast (and perhaps disappointingly), the DKR GR Hilux does away completely with the 3.4-litre V6 that usually powers the DKR GR Hilux, instead using fuel cells to compete in the Future Mission class’s 1,000-kilometre route. While it’s about a quarter of the full rally course, it still promises to offer all of the usual hellish Dakar challenges, like consistent 40-degree daytime temps outside, and 50-degree temps inside the cockpit for good measure, even with the air con on.

“The gruelling course pushes vehicles and drivers to their limits as it winds its way through sand dunes, rocky unpaved roads and dry riverbeds,” said Gazoo Racing in its announcement. “Lessons learned from developing and running the DKR GR FC Hilux will contribute to the wider application of fuel cell technology in passenger cars, trucks, buses, trains, marine applications, race cars and stationary power generators.”

Gazoo Racing expects its Dakar experience to help not only with the development of heat management technology, but also the downsizing of fuel cells. This would help to make FCEVs lighter, a benefit not only to chewed-up road surfaces, but also handling and ride comfort, not to mention the challenge of packaging. Even if many of us would prefer Toyota to focus its full attention on developing liquid hydrogen cars - so that ICE engines might live on - few would deny the advantages of production-ready FCEVs over socket-based solutions.

Oh, and if you’re wondering why Toyota is so adamant about moving forward on hydrogen at a time when everyone else seems obsessed with conventional EV tech, an insider told PH at Le Mans that it has more than a little to do with the country’s natural resources. As an island with no rare earth minerals or exploitable oil of its own, it has to rely on imports to develop the associated technologies. Hydrogen, meanwhile, is the most abundant gas in the universe. Obviously that hasn't solved the infrastructure issues associated with fuel cells - but one day at a time, right? Or perhaps that should be one international motorsport event at a time...