autoevolution
 

Toyota Hilux With Lexus V8 Engine Is Dakar Ready, Costs a Small Fortune

If you've ever started browsing for cool cars for sale online, learn that there is one step further you can go down that road. And that step is looking at race cars for sale, which is bound to upset your wife (if you have one) even more if she catches you red-handed because we all know race cars don't come cheap.
Dakar Ready Toyota Hilux 6 photos
Photo: Racecarsdirect
Dakar Ready Toyota HiluxDakar Ready Toyota HiluxDakar Ready Toyota HiluxDakar Ready Toyota HiluxDakar Ready Toyota Hilux
That's exactly the case with this orange Toyota Hilux, which has been brought up to spec to compete in the FIA T1 class destined for Rally Raid vehicles. These have been built with one goal in mind: being as fast and resilient as possible over rough terrain.

Sure, horsepower levels might not be that impressive at first glance, but we all know that beauty runs further than just skin deep with race vehicles. This Hilux runs a Lexus IS-F V8 engine, now rated at 340 horsepower and 413 lb-ft (560 Nm) of torque. It finished 20th and 23rd overall in the Dakar Rally in 2020 and 2021, with Lithuanian driver Antanas Juknevičius behind the wheel.

This Hilux is like nothing you would ever get to see on public roads, as it comes with a tubular chassis and a carbon body, a Sadev 6-speed sequential gearbox, 2 Reiger dampers with 11.02 inches (280 mm) of travel per wheel, and many more upgrades. One other very interesting feature you might notice is the ATL Safety FT3 Fuel tank with a maximum capacity of 132 gallons (500 liters). That is a must for endurance races like the Dakar Rally.

This race-truck is currently located in Vilnius, Lithuania, and the seller advertises it as "the best ever Cross-country Rally racing car for a private team, that is tough and reliable, easy and not expensive to assist." If you've ever been involved with any kind of racing, you will know that "not expensive" is a relative point of view, as everything in racing is expensive. And so, we're not surprised that the asking price is €210,000 ($252,980). But can you imagine how fun it would be to drive this thing down through Death Valley National Park at high speeds?
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Dragos Chitulescu
Dragos Chitulescu profile photo

The things Dragos enjoys the most in life are, in no particular order: cars, motorcycles, diecast cars, and drifting. He's seen (and driven) many vehicles since he started his writing career back in 2009, but his garage currently houses a 1991 Mazda RX-7 FC3S Turbo II and a 1999 Suzuki SV650-S.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories