Dacia enters 2025 Dakar Rally with specialised off-road prototype

Dacia certainly isn’t the most storied manufacturer in motorsport, but it’s not entirely new to the scene either. The Romanian firm has previously tried its hand at European touring cars and R4 rallying, but in 2025, it’ll take on its most ambitious challenge yet by entering the infamous Dakar Rally. With technical input from rally veterans Prodrive, Dacia will compete in the T1+ class against the likes of Ford and Toyota with Sebastien Loeb and Extreme E driver Cristina Gutiérrez Herrero at the wheel. 

Details of Dacia’s 2025 challenger are under wraps for now, but we expect it to follow Ford and Toyota’s lead with bodywork that resembles one of the firm’s production cars; potentially the Duster crossover. Those links will be purely visual, though, with the four-wheel drive prototype adopting a chassis, suspension and powertrain configuration developed specifically for the harshness and intensity of the Dakar, which typically covers more than 3000 miles across desert terrain.

Prodrive will provide its engineering expertise and decades of rallying experience to develop the car for such challenges, and Dacia will compete using synthetic fuels to serve as a test bed for alternative energy solutions for the wider brand. “Dacia and Dakar are a perfect match”, said Dacia CEO Denus Le Vot. “Not only is this a test of Dacia's true robustness, but it is also a showing of our commitment to low-carbon mobility. We are very excited to take part in Dakar with synthetic fuel technology. Dacia, alongside the best team and drivers in the game, are serious contenders for the rally.

Nine-time World Rally champion Sebastien Loeb has competed in the Dakar since 2016, while Cristina Gutiérrez Herrero has seven Dakar appearances under her belt with a podium finish in the T3 class last year. Dacia will debut its T1+ machine at the Rallye du Maroc in October next year.