Toyota may be on the verge of introducing a proper, high-performance version of the current Hilux to take on the Ford Ranger Raptor. According to CarsGuide, Toyota had successfully trademarked the “GR Hilux” name in Australia in February.
While no details have been put forth, Toyota had in the past promised that any model bearing the GR badge would benefit from noticeable performance upgrades. Currently, the most potent Hilux is one powered by the 1GD-FTV 2.8 litre four-cylinder turbodiesel, making 177 PS and 450 Nm of torque.
Now, a second facelift for the Hilux has been mooted, and may be launched as early as July this year. It’s said to feature a more powerful version of the 2.8 litre diesel engine, but the Ranger Raptor rival could settle for a larger, all-new V6 turbodiesel engine.
This V6 engine is said to be debuting in the next-generation Land Cruiser 300 Series, with outputs expected to be in excess of 270 PS and 650 Nm of torque. Those are numbers which the current V8 diesel in the Land Cruiser 200 Series makes, by the way.
Comparatively, the Ranger Raptor is powered by a 2.0 litre EcoBlue bi-turbo four-cylinder diesel engine from the Panther family, punching out 213 PS and 500 Nm of torque. A Getrag-sourced 10R80 10-speed automatic transmission with sports ratio is fitted to improve acceleration and responsiveness.
“We’re always taking a keen interest in the high-performance ute market, but at this stage we have nothing announce. But like we’ve said in the past, we are not ruling truly out any model from GR modification,” a Toyota spokesperson previously told the publication. “We race the Hilux in Dakar, so it’s definitely not out of the question that we could see a vehicle like that some time in the future.”
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