Defender OCTA – the performance version of the Defender family – will form the basis of Defender’s Dakar and FIA World Rally Raid Championship competition challenger from 2026, showcasing its extreme performance credentials in the world’s toughest off-road events.
Defender OCTA at Dakar — More details
The defender will run a two-vehicle entry of competition-spec Defenders across the full five rounds of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) under the ‘Stock’ category for production-based vehicles, and a three-vehicle entry in the championship’s halo event, the Dakar Rally, from 2026.
The Defender OCTA’s geometry and kinematic design made it the obvious choice to underpin Defender’s Dakar programme. The specially prepared competition vehicles will share Defender OCTA’s body architecture, transmission and driveline layout – as per the Dakar and W2RC’s regulations – to showcase its durability. Power will be provided by Defender OCTA’s 4.4-litre twin turbo V8 engine.
An exhaustive Defender competition test and development programme is already well underway. It will culminate in test events and a full team launch later this year ahead of Dakar and the FIA World Rally Raid Championship in 2026.
New regulations aimed at making the ‘Stock’ category significantly more competitive will be implemented by 2026, as the FIA and Dakar organisers respond to the growing popularity of high-performance 4x4s and SUVs.
Mark Cameron, Defender Managing Director: “Taking on the most demanding rally-raid event in the world represents the ultimate test of our most extreme Defender to date. We know that Dakar will be an immense challenge, but Defender OCTA combines huge performance with characteristic Defender capability and durability – the perfect foundations for what I’m confident will be a highly competitive rally-raid vehicle.”
James Barclay, JLR Motorsport Managing Director: “Defender competing in Dakar will be an incredibly exciting challenge. We had a vision for the future of production-based vehicles in rally-raid so it has been incredibly positive to align with the ASO, FIA and other manufacturers and work collaboratively to create the new regulations for the ‘Stock’ category.”
Barclay added, “We now have the right platform to authentically demonstrate Defender’s capability in the biggest challenge in off-road motorsport. Ahead of us is a year of detailed preparation, testing and learning to be ready for Dakar 2026. The team are already underway and we are very much looking forward to competing in both Dakar and W2RC – the world’s toughest off-road events.”
At the core of Defender OCTA – and retained for the competition vehicles – is its robust D7x (for extreme) body architecture. Based on the lightweight aluminium monocoque construction that forms the basis of every Defender, it is three times stronger than traditional ‘body-on-frame’ designs and provides impressive torsional rigidity.
