Two high-performance Toyota Tundra vehicles that never were
By Andrew C., 26 Aug, 2010. 0 Comments
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According to Pickuptrucks, Toyota last year had seriously considered building a successor to the Ford F-150 Lightning, as well as an off-road truck that would rival the Blue Oval's new SVT Raptor. These two models, both high-performance pickup trucks, were planned to be based on the full-size Tundra model. Not one of them would have made any difference to Toyota's bottom line but they would have been excellent at being halo trucks or inspirational models that would bring attention to the entire Tundra portfolio. With the use of a supercharged 5.7-liter V-8, Toyota's Tundra could be construed to be similar to the second-generation F-150 Lightning.
However, engineers were actually targeting the wild Dodge Ram SRT10. The 5.7-liter V-8 engine is able to deliver 504hp and achieve 550 pound-feet of torque. Toyota had plans to lower the suspension, tune it for the track, and support it with 22-inch forged wheels and upgraded brakes. Toyota had also thought about a proposed "Competition Mode" -- a one-touch defeat of all nagging stability and traction controls.
It is believed that Toyota was working on the "Raptor-fighter" at the same time as Ford's engineers started developing the truck. Toyota had plans to design the off-road Tundra for high-speed off-road pre-running like the Raptor. It also would have used a long-travel suspension. In addition, it also would have been fitted with the rear suspension. Engineers had also thought about replacing the leaf springs and live axle in favor of the independent suspension design used on the full-size Sequoia SUV.
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