Is This Toyota Tundra Concept Truck Trying to Rival the Ford F-150 Raptor?
Toyota unveiled a new concept truck a few months ago: The TRD Desert Chase Tundra. Gearheads are theorizing that some new competition for the Ford F-150 Raptor is in the works.
. Ram, Chevrolet and GMC have already jumped on the Baja-inspired bandwagon.
Toyota Tundra’s TRD Desert Chase all-terrain concept truck made its debut in November 2021 at the SEMA show. While the company has not hinted at any plans yet, does it have the potential to break into this market segment?
The TRD Desert Chase Toyota Tundra concept
Toyota Tundra already sells its TRD Pro model, which is best suited for technical off-roading at low-speed. This new concept suggests a high-performance truck built to handle sand, dirt or gravel obstacles at greater speeds, using the TRD as a template.
The show model has the standard TRD hybrid powertrain and 10-speed automatic transmission. The Rigid Industries light bars paired with its wide body kit give it an aggressive look. The forged aluminum wheels are outfitted with General Tire’s Grabber X3 all-terrains. Skid plates and chase rack complete the look.
Toyota says the concept was developed for company-use as a support vehicle for off-road racing but we’ll find out soon enough if the carmaker has other ideas for it.
Whether this concept will remain a stand-alone show truck or be thrown into production is still a mystery. If the latter does turn out to be true, is the new Toyota Tundra likely to keep up with the Ford F-150 Raptor?
highlights certain similarities between the two trucks, including rear coil springs, 37-inch tires and a long-travel suspension setup. The Tundra’s 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V6 iForce MAX could easily be upgraded to increase horsepower to 450. This would elevate the truck to the same playing field as the Raptor’s EcoBoost V6. Of course, Ram’s 1500 TRX has them both beat with its supercharged Hemi V8. That is, until the anticipated release of the V8-powered Raptor R.
The Toyota TRD Desert Chase Tundra just might be found racing alongside the Ford F-150 Raptor in the near future. But with no high-horsepower V8 engine available in its lineup yet, the design could just simply be used to introduce Toyota Tundra buyers and aftermarket suppliers to the possibilities.
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