2021 Toyota Hilux Teased With Fernando Alonso Behind The Wheel

I know what you're probably thinking – what could Fernando Alonso possibly have to do with a pickup truck? Well, the 38-year-old Spaniard is a member of the Toyota Gazoo Racing team and he drove a Hilux at the beginning of the year at the grueling Dakar Rally. He finished his maiden Dakar in 13th overall after rolling over twice. Following the violent crash, he simply drove away as if nothing had happened.

While preparing for Dakar, the two-time Formula 1 champion had the opportunity to take the road-going Hilux out for a spin in the facelifted guise. Ahead of a full reveal scheduled to take place later this week, Toyota's indestructible truck is being previewed in a teaser video announcing a newly developed 2.8-liter engine with more power.

In its current specification, the four-cylinder turbodiesel unit offers 174 horsepower (130 kilowatts) and 450 Newton-meters (332 pound-feet) of torque when equipped with the automatic transmission. With the manual gearbox, it offers the same amount of horsepower, but torque decreases to 420 Nm (310 lb-ft). The 2.8-liter engine came out back in 2015 to replace the larger, but less powerful 3.0-liter, and now it appears Toyota will increase the output numbers once again.

Aside from getting an upgraded engine, the 2021 Hilux will also benefit from revised suspension geometry. That's all Toyota is willing to say for the time being, but a leak from mid-April revealed the truck's updated exterior design in full. The immensely popular pickup will get a Tacoma-inspired look with more modern LED headlights and taillights, along with fresh alloy wheel designs and new colors.

We've been hearing rumors of a GR Hilux performance version with a potent V6 diesel. We'll believe it when we'll see it, but it's worth mentioning Toyota trademarked the model's name earlier this year, thus hinting at a Ford Ranger Raptor rival.

New Hilux 2020 Alonso testimonial 13sec from ToyotaGB on Vimeo.