Toyota revealed its concept for the Toyota HiLux Tonka this week! It is nothing surprising considering how popular its predecessor is in Australia. This car comes as a birthday gift to fans from Toyota since the company is 80 years old now.
HiLux Tonka is based on the flagship SR5 double cab variation, however, it will feature numerous off-road upgrades. The concept vehicle was painted in black and yellow and looks really good.
Engineers really put a lot of effort into improving the old HiLux, and one of the major changes was the height of the vehicle. This truck ground clearance has been increased by 150mm by installing a high riding axle, heavy-duty suspension and 17-inch alloy wheels on which there are gigantic 35-inch tires. That isn’t all, we will also see carbon fiber bonnet skin, a new front bumper and ‘power bulge’ on the front. This gives out the impression of pure strength and muscles.
Another excellent thing about this vehicle is that it will have LED off-road lighting on the front and also on the roof which will help your vision greatly. We said that this car is pure muscle, well, a 6mm thick alloy bash plate plays the role of the protector. The underbody components will be safe with this addition. On top of that, we will also see side rails that will protect that segment of the body of the car.
When it comes to the back of the vehicle, its tailgate is covered in the carbon-fiber skin which holds a spoiler and air vents. You can access the tray by a light strap, that wasn’t the case until now.
Tub of the vehicle features a removable frame used to protect fuel cans, storage boxes, ax, shovel, fire extinguisher, spare wheel and high-lift jack.
When it comes to power, we will have a 2.8-liter four cylinder turbo-diesel engine (we had that in SR5) which can produce 130kW of power and 450Nm of torque.
Toyota‘s product design chief, Nicolas Hogios claims that the new HiLux Tonka is beyond wildest dreams of both adults and kids. He said: ‘We have taken Tonka out of the sand pit and reinvented HiLux from top to bottom and from nose to tail. Inspired by the Tonka trucks that kids play with in their backyards, the HiLux Tonka Concept goes way beyond the already hugely capable abilities of HiLux to traverse rocks and other rugged terrain.’
We’ve mentioned that Toyota’s HiLux was a major success in Australia last year. It became the first vehicle (other than a passenger car) to become bestselling there. A whopping 42,104 units were sold in 2016! When it comes to the rest of the world combined with Australia, there are around 16 million HiLuxes sold ever since its beginning in 1968.
This year is also the year in which the Tonka celebrates its 70th birthday!
Now, these are all good news, but we have something not so good to share. This car won’t be available anytime soon. It won’t even be available in showrooms, but it will be touring 4WD shows, expos, field days around the country where you’ll be able to get to know it better.
