Hilux Dakar – 40 years in the making

By Lawrence Minnie

If you ever want to truly test the skill it takes to do something you should go out and try it yourself - or at least witness it from very close by. This rang even louder in my ears than the roaring exhaust pipes of the Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux as we pummeled across the barren wastes of the Goerapan area just outside Upington.

The Toyota Gazoo racing team invited us along for their test and preparation session for the Botswana Desert Race, and we were given the opportunity to strap on a helmet and buckle into one of the race vehicles for an adrenaline filled 10-minute thrill ride, chauffeured by none other than Giniel de Villiers.

This wasn’t all fun and games though, as the team actually need the passenger ballast to setup the cars and we were all too happy to play along.

Flying along at close to 190km/h across a barren wasteland littered with rocks and stones is something that you can’t quite describe. The high speed abruptly ends and then the bone- jarring jumps and corners begin. Careening over dunes, crunching down into dips and then threading the needle through a set of gate posts is unimaginable even at normal speeds, but for the master himself, Giniel de Villiers, it's like a Sunday drive.

The mind-numbing array of gauges, digital readouts and switches are difficult enough to read while standing still, but Giniel was able to monitor all of them and still adjust his race harness mid-corner, whilst manhandling the steering wheel and plowing through bushes.

The ride-along was definitely a bucket-list experience and truly does give one an appreciation for what these drivers face during the Dakar and the like.

Hilux gets the Dakar treatment

To celebrate the 40^th running of the fabled race, Toyota has released 6000 special edition Hilux Dakar double cab bakkies.

These limited edition Dakar Hiluxes get the new Toyota front-end that completely changes the look of the car. New honeycomb grilles, gloss black detailing and trapezoidal shapes bring the once gaudy looking Raider’s bumper in line, and give it a menacing and purposeful look.

Models will also receive the Dakar emblems and badging, as well as a full range of exterior Dakar-specific accessories.

With the exterior bits refreshed, Toyota turned their attention to the interior, and the Dakar Edition sees a full gloss black interior with all the grey panelling removed. In my opinion, the best change Is the new instrument cluster - it really does accentuate the driver's view. The standard fare of Hilux Raider fitment is present, but navigation is standard in these models.

The short drive was nothing out of the ordinary, as the these are still essentially the 2.8 GD-6 Hilux Raiders, so nothing has changed on the engineering side.

Verdict

Despite a mild concussion from a Giniel-based Hilux nod, the experience was excellent and I couldn’t be happier that Toyota listened to the fans and enhanced the front-end of the Hilux, by giving it a nose job and a brow lift.

If you like this new look, go place your order, as there is no doubt in my mind that the allocated 6000 units are going to go sell out quickly!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go lie down….my spleen hurts.

Models and pricing

Double Cab
Hilux DC 2.8GD6 Raised Body Dakar MT	R 535 000
Hilux DC 2.8GD6 Raised Body Dakar AT	R 553 400
Hilux DC 2.8GD6 4X4 Dakar MT	R 601 100
Hilux DC 2.8GD6 4X4 Dakar AT	R 621 000
Hilux DC 4.0 V6 4X4 Dakar AT	R 662 700

Service Plan, warranty period

Toyota has increased the service plan period on 2.8 GD-6 models from 5 years/90 000 kilometres to 9 services/90 000 kilometres, whilst the 4.0 V6 model receives an increase to 6 services/90 000 kilometre period (previously 5 years).

The warranty period is 3 years/100 000 kilometres and applies across the Hilux range.