If the 1984 Toyota 4Runner Were Made Today, Here’s What It’d Look Like

The Toyota TRD Surf concept takes a 2025 Toyota 4Runner, chops most of the roof off, refits the interior with some weather-resistant seating, and loops a roll bar over the back seats. Basically, it’s the first-gen 4Runner we met in 1984 reimagined for 2024. Since it’s being built specifically for the SEMA show in Las Vegas, this concept also has billet bling suspension bits and huge tires. It’s pretty much the truck of my dreams.

The “Surf” name calls back to the popularity of 4Runners with the SoCal surfing scene, and also the 4Runner model name in Japan and other countries (Hilux Surf). Early 4Runners/Hilux Surfs were pretty much just Hilux trucks with back seats, after all.

We got a little teaser of this thing yesterday and I was so excited about the idea that I posted Toyota’s brief “making-of” clip less than one business day ago. But these final product images of the world’s first convertible 2025 4Runner were way too cool not to share.

Toyota says “the removable top was built in-house, blending traditional fabrication with CAD and modern 3D printing technology to shape cutlines that perfectly mirrored both sides of the body, creating a perfect fit. Designed to be easily removed by a single person, this feature provides the open-air freedom synonymous with the 4Runner legacy.”

Those Turbo emblems in the door are outwardly stamped, too. They’re not just stickers.

Toyota 4Runner Surf: Roof Off

Toyota 4Runner Surf: Roof On

Toyota 4Runner Surf: Details

Easily removed by a single person, huh? I sincerely hope we get a clip of that from somebody at the SEMA show, because making a truck hardtop that size that somebody could lift alone would be a heck of an accomplishment. My International Scout has a fiberglass removable hardtop, and getting it on or off the vehicle is a four-man job. I don’t think early 4Runners’ were all that easy to heave, either!

The concept has “soft, waterproof flooring” which I guess would be like a boat’s for when you’re caught out in the rain or dripping in soaked surf gear.

Underneath, there’s a long-travel suspension setup with billet aluminum front upper and lower A-arms (a prerequisite for SEMA style points), custom axles, a rear end from a Tundra, and 37-inch tires on 17- by 8.5-inch wheels.

I’m sure many other commenters and critics will say this, but, dear Toyota, please put this into series production. Alas, it’d probably be too expensive to do crash compliance and weather sealing to mass-market standards for us to see these on the streets, but a boy can dream. I bet Toyota’s beancounters might still be too mad about having to replace all those Tundra engines and Tacoma transmissions to greenlight something like this, anyway. But it sure is fun to see the build.

It looks a lot better than I might have expected, considering a small team banged it out in weeks, not years. And hey, maybe a cottage industry will emerge doing a limited run of these as an aftermarket arrangement.

Got any photos of a first-gen 4Runner with its roof off? There are not many great ones out there! Email the author at andrew.collins@thedrive.com.