Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) has developed its GR DKR Hilux Evo T1U to run on semi-renewable fuel. The car made its debut in 2022, and four examples finished among the top five at the 2023 Dakar Rally including the outright win. The new Evo version has various refinements; it is 100 mm wider; its suspension has been redesigned and the air-conditioning unit has been relocated for greater efficiency.
The Hilux is powered by a 3.5 litre V6 twin turbo, developed from the engine of the Toyota Land Cruiser 300 GR Sport, which provides about 400 bhp and 660 Nm torque. In the Evo version, it benefits from a new cooling package, which, Toyota reports, “allows for greater redundancy”.
The four-wheel-drive Evo has a Sadev six-speed, sequential shift gearbox and limited slip differentials at the front, centre and rear. The 2010 kg car (mandated minimum) carries a 540 litre fuel tank. For this year’s Dakar Rally, TGR is partnering with Repsol as its fuel supplier. The 2024 Dakar fuel has a 70% renewable content, which, Toyota reports, “is using advanced biofuels with a reduction of the carbon footprint of at least 70%, compared to conventional gasoline”.
We are further told that this fuel has been designed by, and is produced at, the Repsol Technology Laboratory in Madrid, using renewable waste material, such as used cooking oil. It has been created in installations certified under the ISCC EU sustainability scheme. Toyota notes that the raw materials and the production processes comply with the sustainability requirements under the European Renewable Energy Directive.
Toyota adds: “TGR has been an extensive research and development partner to Repsol over the last 18 months; first bench-testing and then extensively field-testing the Repsol Renewable Fuel 70R+ in various locations. The blend used by the team was formulated exclusively for TGR, in accordance with the FIA’s regulations.”
We are also told that the Evo car has been in constant development throughout 2023, and that TGR’s crews completed nearly 30,000 km of racing and testing during the season.