The head of Gazoo Racing has ruled out the possibility of a full-fat Toyota GR Hilux to battle the Ford Ranger Raptor, though suggests hot SUVs are on the cards…
Waiting patiently for a full-fat Toyota GR Hilux to take the fight to the Ford Ranger Raptor? Well, the head of the Japanese firm’s Gazoo Racing division has unequivocally ruled out a high-performance version of the popular bakkie, though suggests hot GR-badged SUVs are on the horizon.
Tomoya Takahashi, President of Toyota’s Gazoo Racing Company, told Australian media that a full-bore GR version of the venerable Hilux was not going to happen.
“A GR special car? No – only GR Sport,” Takahashi said when quizzed about a hotter Hilux, according to WhichCar. The Australian publication asked again if there was room for a Ranger Raptor rival and reported that the executive simply shook his head and said “no”.
As a reminder, the widebody Hilux GR Sport III that has just launched in South Africa employs the previous iteration’s 2.8-litre, 4-cylinder turbodiesel engine, which here generates 165 kW and 550 Nm. That’s not nearly in the realm of the Ranger Raptor, which offers 292 kW and 583 Nm from its turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 petrol mill.
A full-fat GR Hilux pitched against the Raptor has long been rumoured, with previous reports suggesting such a derivative would form part of the upcoming next-generation version of the bakkie (perhaps borrowing the 3.3-litre V6 turbodiesel motor from the Land Cruiser 300). However, Takahashi’s comments suggest such a model won’t become a reality.
That said, Takahashi did hint that the GR range would be expanded past the likes of the GR86, GR Yaris, GR Corolla and GR Supra, suggesting that the SUV body shape was next in line for a high-performance overhaul.
“In the future, from my point of view, we need a GR SUV. Some people can only use SUVs because they have a family or need space. To expand our brand, maybe an SUV is needed,” he said, according to CarExpert.
While Toyota already offers GR Sport versions of the Corolla Cross and Land Cruiser 300 (as well as the Yaris Cross and C-HR in other markets), it has yet to develop a GR flagship in SUV guise. Judging by Takahashi’s stance on the matter, however, such a model is surely on the horizon…
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