Not long after Ford confirmed it is working on a potent Ranger Raptor, Toyota Australia has suggested that it may follow Ford’s lead with a more hardcore version of the Hilux.
In Australia, the Hilux is available in a host of sporty forms, including TRD guise, but speaking with Car Advice, the brand’s local sales and marketing boss Sean Hanley, said these models may not adequately match the Ranger Raptor.
“Clearly there’s a gap for us. We don’t have the ‘level four’ (above SR5, TRD). When you look at that ute market, the HiLux combined 4×2 and 4×4 is number one year-to-date, and I expect it’ll finish number one for the year. It’ll possibly and probably be the number-one selling car, again, in our market.
However, it is clear to us that the demand sits one step above that level three now, which is our SR5. We’ve been able to fill that gap somewhat with our TRD vehicle, and we certainly understand that in the future, we’ll have to examine very closely what we do to fill that gap to ensure that our number-one selling car continues to hold that momentum in the future,” Hanley said.
Although Hanley said there are no immediate plans for such a model, it is a very interesting prospect and one that’ll certainly attract the interest of Australia buyers.
At the start of October, it emerged that the Ranger Raptor will use a 2.0-liter twin-turbo diesel engine. While this powertrain isn’t as exciting as the 3.5-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost of the F-150 Raptor, it should have enough grunt to satisfy enthusiasts. The pickup can also be expected to receive a healthy dose of aggressive new body panels.
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