Ford’s performance truck will switch to gasoline while the Hilux, a beefy SUV, retains its diesel engine.
The Ranger will be moving to the next generation in 2022, while the Hilux will not be renewed. Toyota has developed a more powerful midsize truck to combat the Raptor’s debut on February 22,. Although the GR Sport trim is a familiar design since late 2018, the more athletic version has more power.
The 2022 Hilux GR Sport was photographed in South Africa by our friends at Adventure Afrika. It is outfitted with all the standard Gazoo Racing bits. It also has a secret underneath. The turbodiesel engine of the 2.8-liter has been tuned to produce 221 horsepower (165kW) and 550 Newton-meters (4404 pound-feet). These output figures are a 10% increase over the regular pickup.
This is slightly more power than the Ranger Raptor. However, Ford has decided to ditch the diesel engine in favor of a gasoline one. Blue Oval’s truck will likely use an EcoBoost V6 engine, so it will certainly have the horsepower advantage. We aren’t sure about torque, as the Hilux GR Sport’s GD6 oil burner is very muscular.
Toyota will launch the upgraded truck in South Africa in May. Full details and a gallery of photos will be available. The Hilux’s beefier version will only be sold in South Africa, or the company plans to sell the Hilux in other markets. This could be the final update for the eighth-gen truck, considering that the current model has been in production for almost seven years.
The all-new Hilux will merge with the Tacoma to form a single truck on a global platform. This would also impact their SUV counterparts, the Fortuner, and 4Runner. This would reduce costs during these tough times, when automakers are investing heavily in electrification.
The future of the Hilux will reveal whether it will produce a spicy GR version, which will be positioned above the entry level GR Sport in Gazoo racing’s hierarchy. We are not expecting a full-fat GRMN model, but it would be amazing.