Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux Faces Tough EV Competition At 2023 Dakar Rally

Toyota will need to bring its A-Game because the competition will be tough. The equally famous X-Raid team recently debuted the 2023 Mini John Cooper Works Rally Plus, and the South-African built Hiluxes will also face tough competition from the Century Racing buggies, also built in South Africa.

But the most prominent rival comes in the shape of Audi’s RS Q e-tron. Earlier this year, Audi made history by entering the first EV into the Dakar Rally. Audi made some mistakes, but crucially, it also recorded some stage wins, proving that the concept works. The RS Q e-tron has since been massively improved due to lessons learned in the 2022 Dakar Rally, and we have a suspicion that the Germans will at least give Gazoo, X-Raid, and Century a headache.

“The Dakar Rally really is the big one! We’ve had a great year, winning the first-ever W2RC title. But we’d love to add another Dakar victory to the list, and we are sure that the car is good enough to bring us that win,” said Al-Attiyah.