Toyota seeking to combat upcoming Ford Ranger Raptor with muscled-up HiLux ute
Toyota Australia has made no secret of its plan to offer tougher new versions of its top-selling Toyota HiLux ute in 2022 in an attempt to spoil the launch of the new Ford Ranger in the second quarter of this year, and this muscled-up 165kW Toyota HiLux GR Sport tough-truck could be its answer.
The wraps came off the fourth – yes fourth – version of the Toyota HiLux GR Sport dual-cab 4×4 ute globally late last week and, although none of them have yet been officially confirmed for Australia, this specimen from South Africa looks to be the pick of the litter.
Pictured here in pre-production prototype form, South Africa’s 2022 Toyota HiLux GR Sport is not just a cosmetic or chassis upgrade, but has been given a tickle under the bonnet where its 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel lifts outputs from 150kW/500Nm to 165kW/550Nm.
That’s even more than the 157kW/500Nm outputs of the 2.0-litre biturbo diesel that powers the current Ford Ranger Raptor and is available across the existing Ranger line-up, although the new Raptor’s twin-turbo petrol V6 will up its power output to about 300kW.
But before you call your dealer to place an order, pump the brakes – just a bit.
When we contacted Toyota Australia a spokesperson wouldn’t be drawn on whether the hotted-up HiLux is on the menu for Aussie buyers, stating: “Toyota Australia is continually looking at opportunities to expand the Toyota GR range with more exciting models.
“However, at this stage, we have no announcements to make on any new additions to the GR family.”
Photos and details of the more potent HiLux GR Sport were posted by Adventure Afrika, and the built-in-Durban Toyota HiLux GR Sport is set to be unleashed in the South African market in around May 2022.
If it was offered in Australia it would become the most powerful four-cylinder diesel ute in the country, out-muscling the Ranger and the 160kW/500Nm 2.0-litre biturbo diesel in the new LDV T60 Max, but not the diesel V6-powered versions of the Volkswagen Amarok, including the W580X, which produce 190kW/580Nm.
Other upgrades to this particular HiLux GR Sport tough-truck, which is not a full-blown HiLux GR, include reworked suspension, GR badges and Toyota lettering on the front grille in place of the smaller ‘T’ Toyota badge.
The front bumper appears fairly similar to that seen on regular premium versions of the HiLux, except for slightly larger fog light bezels, while the rear-end gets a small GR-branded sports bar.
It’s unlikely Aussie-delivered utes would come from South Africa or anywhere other than Thailand, as is currently the case for all HiLux vehicles.
However, it’s understood Toyota Australia is seriously considering a GR Sport-style version of the current HiLux before it’s replaced around 2024 by an all-new model that’s expected to include a hard-core GR flagship.
Any such GR Sport, or GR ‘lite’, version of the current HiLux would – like this South African model – bring more power and its local launch will almost certainly be timed to draw attention away from the local release of its next-generation arch-rival, Ford Ranger, by mid-2022.
Toyota Australia’s head of product planning and development, Rod Ferguson, previously revealed the world’s number one car brand has a strategy in place to keep the now-six-year-old Toyota HiLux competitive in the face of an all-new Ranger.
“I really can’t share product plans we have for HiLux but you can rest assured we have plans for our most important vehicle and the number-one-selling vehicle in Australia,” Ferguson stated, indicating the brand does not intent to relinquish its numero uno status.
Ferguson also explained that Toyota Australia’s substantial local production and conversion centre outside Melbourne could be scaled up to enhance locally delivered products, such as it does already with the HiLux Rugged X.
“You’ve seen the way we can employ Toyota production systems now on a smaller scale compared to what it was on a big scale on this site, so we very much want to use that as a showcase … we’re very much open for new projects.”
Toyota Australia and marketing boss Sean Hanley, meantime, has implied that the reason no previous HiLux GR Sport models have been confirmed for Oz is because none of them have offered power hikes.
“At this stage we don’t have any plans for the GR Sport,” he stated.
“The other thing to bear in mind is there are no engine modifications on those vehicles from what I have read.
“But we never rule these things out. We continue to look at the market demands are and what we can bring to market,” he said, leaving the door open for a GR Sport-branded HiLux.
It should also be noted that Toyota Australia has trademarked the GR HiLux name.
“We trademarked the name GR but that’s not abnormal for us. We do that always in Australia, you know, speculation and planning. It’s part of our intellectual property,” said Hanley last month.
So we know Toyota is planning a headline-grabbing HiLux range-topper to gatecrash the new Ford Ranger party in a few months; now it’s a question of what, not when.
Watch this space.
Images: Adventure Afrika
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Keyword: Hotter 165kW Toyota HiLux GR Sport busts out