Team Land Cruiser Toyota Auto Body has reigned over the Dakar Rally’s Stock class for the past 12 years, but they face being usurped by Land Rover in 2026. Not one to back down from the fight, they unveiled the 2026 Land Cruiser 300 GR Sport on Monday.

Akiura Miura will race the #501 with Jean-Michel Polato as navigator while Ronald Basso is in the #503 and navigated by Julien Ménard.

The Land Cruiser complies with the FIA’s new Stock regulations for 2026, which focuses on reducing costs to encourage manufacturer participation. Land Rover was the biggest taker, forming Defender Rally to compete at Dakar and the full World Rally-Raid Championship with Stéphane Peterhansel and Rokas Baciuška; Sara Price will also race the Defender Dakar D7X‑R at Dakar.

Cognizant of their new rival, Toyota Auto Body has been busy developing their upgraded Land Cruiser in the months following this year’s Dakar, where Miura and Basso were the only Stock cars. They raced the new vehicles at the Rallye du Maroc as Experimental Stock entries.

The car is officially called the Toyota Land Cruiser 300 GR Sport VJA300L. It is powered by the V35A-FTS, a 3,445cc 3.4-liter twin-turbo V6 engine, as opposed to the 3,345cc F33A-FTV model of its 2025 predecessor. The 2026 version is the same length but wider and taller at 4,965 millimeters by 2,050 mm and 2,000 mm (the 2025 vehicle was 4,965 mm × 1,990 mm × 1,975 mm).

Both versions have a double wishbone independent coil spring front suspension and a trailing link axle coil spring rear suspension, though the 2026 make’s is specifically built for rally raids. The shocks are also purpose-made for racing; they and the absorbers both come from BOS.

Like the previous Land Cruiser, the 2026 one features two-piece ventilated disc brakes and a direct shift ten-speed automatic transmission.

The new car uses 17×71/2J aluminum alloy wheels from Enkei, whereas last year’s was 17″ by 7.5J. For tires, it relies on 275/75R17 Open Country M/T-R tires from Toyo; 2025’s was the Open Country but with a grade of 285/70R17.

Miura is the defending Dakar Stock winner.

Featured image credit: Team Land Cruiser Toyota Auto Body