The 2012 Rally de Portugal was the fourth round of the 2012 World Rally Championship season and was based in Faro, Portugal. It started with a street stage in Lisbon on 29 March and concluded on 1 April after twenty-two special stages, totalling 434 competitive kilometres.

Mikko Hirvonen is a Finnish former rally driver, and a current Rally-Raid driver, who drove in the World Rally Championship. He placed third in the drivers' championship and helped Ford to the manufacturers' title in both 2006 and 2007. In 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012 he finished runner-up to Sébastien Loeb. Hirvonen's co-driver was Jarmo Lehtinen from the 2003 season until his retirement in 2014, Lehtinen had replaced Miikka Anttila who co-drove with Hirvonen in the 2002 season.