Most of the teams employ special racing engines for the Dakar rally. Kamaz specifically opts for series production components in order to test their durability during the race and to gain knowledge for further development of the Kamaz product range. By choosing the 8-cylinder D9508 A7 engine from Liebherr, whose performance is rated at 505 kW or 686 HP in the series production version and whose maximum torque is just over 3000 Nm, both companies were confident that they would be able to utilise large power reserves.
In the race configuration developed by Kamaz and Liebherr, a maximum output of 720 kW or 965 HP is achieved alongside a maximum torque of 4000 Nm. The engine has a common rail injection system from Liebherr and a displacement of 16.2 litres. The 8.9 ton trucks can reach a maximum speed of 140 km/h for racing. They accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 10 seconds.