The Toyota Hilux was Australia’s best selling vehicle of any type last year, which is the first time that a bakkie has ever topped the sales charts in Oz.
To celebrate the popularity of the Hilux as well as Toyota’s 80th birthday and Tonka’s 70th, the Japenese car manufacturer and American toy truck manufacturer have collaborated to bring this full-size Hilux Tonka Concept to life.
If you ever owned a Tonka tip truck as a child, you will recognise the black and yellow colour scheme that has been carried through to this concept vehicle. Besides the honey bee hue, modifications to the Hilux include heavy-duty suspension, a 150mm raise in ride height and the 17-inch wheels are wrapped in 35-inch diameter tyres.
A 6mm-thick alloy bash plate protects the sump and the underbelly and side rails help to safeguards the body and chassis.
Both the bonnet and the tailgate are covered in a carbon-fibre skin, while the former has a ‘power bulge’ on top and the latter comes with an integrated spoiler and dual air vents.
To complete the look, you’ll find diesel fuel cans, storage boxes, a fire extinguisher, axe, shovel, jack and a spare wheel stowed in a secure, removable tubular frame fitted in the bed.
Fitted with a standard Hilux 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine the Hilux Tonka concept develops 130kW of power and 450Nm of torque.
Toyota’s product design chief, Nicolas Hogios, 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.”