Meet the Defender D7X-R - a Dakar Rally racer born from the standard Defender Octa and set for the toughest test in Defender’s history: the Dakar Rally. Want to know why the new Dakar Rally ready Defender D7X-R looks so much like a standard Defender? Because it basically is. The rules for the 2026 World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) ‘Stock’ category in which the D7X-R is due to compete are pretty stringent; vehicles need to be production class and have the same unmodified bodyshell, engine and drivetrain - no unrecognisable tube-frame ‘prototypes’ with a Defender grille taped to the front. Luckily, there's already a Defender that’s semi-rally hardened as standard; step forward the Defender OCTA (the D7X). And while the R is essentially ‘just’ a Defender 110 - it does have a few rally-specific upgrades. Which it'll need for the daddy of desert races this January.

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