Oh boy, if I still had my 4runner... From what I've seen.. The guys that do well aren't always the fastest in the desert but the guys that can spend the least amount of time "bottle necked" at the obstacles so I personally don't think you need a super fast desert car to win... With that being said, shannon campbell goes fast enough he misses the bottle neck completely. I think a well built lj would do extremely well, good motor, good tranny, a million suspension options. however I'd like to think a Toyota could do it