By: Dave Abrahams
Prospecton, Durban - There's no doubt the 2015 Dakar Rally achievements of Giniel de Villiers and navigator Dirk von Zitzewitz deserve a bit of fanfare - first in the T1 Petrol Class and second overall against the might of the works Mini fleet is not to be sniffed at.
Which is why Toyota has come up with the limited-edition Hilux Dakar, based on the Legend 45, itself a commemorative model introduced last year to mark the 45th anniversary of the Hilux's arrival in South Africa, and which is still in production.
For the next three months, Toyota will complete half of its Legend 45 specials to Hilux Dakar specification - but when they're all gone, that's it.
And this is what makes the Hilux Dakar special:
You can have it any colour you want, as long as it's white or metallic silver, with special Dakar badges on the front nudge bar, front doors, styling bar and tailgate.
POLISHED STAINLESS-STEEL
You get a two-tone polished stainless-steel tubular front nudge bar with a matt black cross bar and Dakar decal in white, and a two-tone stainless-steel, tubular rear step bumper with a matt black step.
The two-tone grille gets a chromed border and gloss black horizontal slats, the B pillar is blacked out, as opposed to body colour, the mirror housings and door are gloss black, and the Legend 45's 17-inch alloy rims in 'anthracite grey' give way to special rims finished in an even darker grey.
The tonneau cover and two-tone stainless-steel, tubular load bay styling bar that are optional on the Legend 45 are standard on the Dakar, the latter with a matt black cross plate and Dakar decal in white.
And where the Legend 45 is trimmed in black leather with silver accents, the Dakar has black leather throughout with red contrast stitching.
But enough special editions Toyota, we want to see the all-new Hilux.
PRICES - SINGLE CAB
2.7 VVTi Raised Body Dakar - R315 100
3.0 D-4D Raised Body Dakar - R361 600
3.0 D-4D 4x4 Dakar - R419 600
EXTRA CAB
3.0 D-4D Raised Body Dakar - R393 100
3.0 D-4D 4x4 Dakar - R451 400
DOUBLE CAB
2.5 D-4D Raised Body Dakar - R431 800
2.7 VVTi Raised Body Dakar - R396 700
3.0 D-4D Raised Body Dakar - R459 200
3.0 D-4D Raised Body Dakar AT - R473 300
3.0 D-4D 4x4 Dakar - R518 400
3.0 D-4D 4x4 Dakar AT - R532 700
4.0 V6 Raised Body Dakar AT - R472 500
4.0 V6 4x4 Dakar AT - R558 200
All Hilux Dakar bakkies come with a five-year or 90 000km service plan.