Trademark Filing Suggests Toyota GR Hilux High-Performance Truck May Happen

4 years, 9 months ago - 28 February 2020, autoevolution

The United States has the Tacoma, but the rest of the world gets the Hilux.

Both mid-size trucks will transition to the TNGA-F vehicle architecture in 2023 for the 2024 model year, and the all-new underpinnings could translate to a high-output and off-road variant of the Hilux.

GR Hilux has been filed with IP Australia as well as the World Intellectual Property Organization, with GR standing for Gazoo Racing. The trademark was submitted in July 2019 and accepted in February 2020, and it's been classified under the goods and services class 12.

What that means is "motor vehicles, engines, parts, panels, and accessories," and at the time of writing, the trademark is in the opposition period. Nobody has contested Toyota yet, and it's unlikely anybody will do during the 30-day opposition period. The question is, what exactly is a GR Hilux?

Toyota already has the Hilux GR Sport and Hilux TRD, and both do pretty much the same thing while looking differently. Hilux GR without the Sport suffix means that Toyota is thinking about offering an even sportier variant, however strange that may sound.

It's hard to tell what kind of powerplant the newcomer will get. A six-cylinder engine like the 4.0-liter V6 of the Hilux GR Sport for South America would be interesting, yet the TNGA-F vehicle architecture (a.k.a. F1) also supports different levels of electrification.

The 2022 Tundra – which is expected to premiere in December 2021 – is rumored to get a twin-turbo V6 with hybrid assistance. The next-gen Land Cruiser and Lexus LX are expected with this eco-friendly setup as well, but only time will tell if the rumors are actually true.

Late last year, two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso tested the Gazoo Racing Hilux V8 for the 2020 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia. His truck was built by Toyota's South African division, and as fate would have it, the Spaniard finished a disappointing thirteenth. Rally legend Carlos Sainz Sr. and the MINI John Cooper Works Buggy finished first on the podium, besting another Gazoo Racing Hilux V8 by six minutes.