Toyota to race biodiesel SUV in 2014 Dakar Rally

Toyota Auto Body Co. has entered a team in the 2014 Dakar Rally, the subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corp. said.

The team plans to run a Toyota Land Cruiser 200 sport utility vehicle in the roughly 5,500-km off-road race that runs through Argentina, Bolivia and Chile from Jan. 4 to 18.

The Land Cruiser will run on biodiesel made from used cooking oil, emitting 60 percent less carbon dioxide than regular diesel.

“I want to compete on the world stage in a Japanese car and with Japanese technology,” driver Jun Mitsuhashi said Wednesday at an event in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, to announce the team’s entry in the race.

japantimes.co.jp