Toyota’s Cheapest Pickup Truck Is Also Its Weirdest Race Car

Toyota’s most affordable pickup is the Hilux Champ, which is sold in select global markets as an entry-level truck. It’s stunningly basic even compared to the Hilux; there’s absolutely nothing sporty about it, yet it represents Toyota in the Super Pickup race series held in Thailand.

We’re not talking about a LeMons-like race, and this isn’t an odd one-off designed as some kind of April Fools’ joke on wheels. Super Pickup is part of the Super Series, a major racing series in Thailand, and the Champ was developed by the Thai arm of Toyota Gazoo Racing, the same outfit that brought you the GR Corolla. It might be the weirdest Toyota race car, but the 500-horsepower Corolla Cross built by the group’s Brazilian colleagues certainly gives it a run for its money.

Toyota made numerous modifications to the Hilux Champ before letting it loose on the track, according to Top Gear Philippines. Starting with a long-wheelbase model, the team added a full body kit that includes a front bumper with a huge air intake, wheel arch flares, and a wing on the tailgate. It also lowered the suspension and fitted racing-specific wheels. The result kind of looks like someone raided an AutoZone to build a replica of a Hot Wheels car, especially when you see the Champ in a field of far more streamlined-looking pickups, but it’s pretty awesome.

Power reportedly comes from an evolution of the 2.4-liter turbodiesel four-cylinder engine that’s available in the regular-production Champ. It has been significantly modified—it’s notably intercooled, but its output hasn’t been released. Stock, it delivers about 164 hp, which isn’t all much when you consider it needs to move a body-on-frame truck that weighs over 6,000 pounds and makes a Volvo 240 look aerodynamic.

The final race of the 2024 Super Series season is scheduled to take place in December, so it’s not too late to catch the Champ in action. On the track, it goes wheel-to-wheel against similarly-modified versions of the Ford Ranger, Mitsubishi L200, and Isuzu D-Max.

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