This Defender is (almost) ready for Dakar!

The Defender Dakar D7X-R prototype has made its world debut on the iconic hill at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, as part of the ongoing testing programme ahead of its entry into the 2026 Dakar Rally and the World Rally Raid Championship (W2RC) magazin de piese auto online.

This Defender is (almost) ready for Dakar!

Over the four days of the festival, the rally car was seen in action on the famous hill climb, as well as in the off-road arena, where it tackled more extreme and challenging terrain.

The Defender’s appearance gave the public a glimpse of the type of vehicles that will compete in the revamped ‘Stock’ category of the 2026 Dakar Rally and W2RC for production-based vehicles. The Defender Dakar D7X-R is a racing version of the Defender 110. The updates to the ‘Stock’ category will make it significantly more competitive and provide an ideal platform for an authentic demonstration of the Defender’s extreme capabilities and durability.

The renowned festival also saw the debut of four-time Dakar stage winner Sarah Price and the legendary Stephane Peterhanzel, who won the Dakar Rally a record 14 times. Both Sarah and Stephan were recently announced as official Defender drivers, alongside Rokas Baciuska.

The first prototype of the Defender Dakar D7X-R was tested in the sand dunes of Morocco in April, where the team gained valuable experience that has been applied to the next phase of the programme. The second prototype, unveiled publicly for the first time at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, now includes a number of performance-oriented improvements and is closer to the specification of the official race car, which will be revealed later this year. The improvements include:

Car parts AutoPower
Car parts AutoPower

Over the four days of the festival, the rally car was seen in action on the famous hill climb, as well as in the off-road arena, where it tackled more extreme and challenging terrain

The Defender’s appearance gave the public a glimpse of the type of vehicles that will compete in the revamped ‘Stock’ category of the 2026 Dakar Rally and W2RC for production-based vehicles