The first Australian customers get the keys to their big, bad Right-Hand Drive Toyota Tundra
Arvind · Dec 31, 2023 12:00 PM
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The first two Australian customers of the Right-Hand Drive (RHD) Toyota Tundra pick-up evaluation program have now received their keys. Anthony Smith and Mark Hodgson were specifically chosen for their experience, having privately imported previous-generation Tundras to Australia.
The two customers will now begin customer long-term evaluations of the bigger, badder brother of the Toyota Hilux, which for the first time has been adapted for a RHD market, having previously only been made available as a Left-Hand Drive (LHD) for North American markets.
Anthony Smith is a veteran Toyota dealer in Australia who plans to use his RHD Tundra on Australian farmlands
In his first test of the RHD Tundra, Mr Hodgson plans a roughly 15,000 km expedition across Australia whilst towing a 2.5-tonne Bruder camper trailer across a range of harsh and varied terrains. Similarly, Anthony Smith, with over 30 years of experience as a Toyota dealer, plans to use the Tundra for a mix of work and personal activities, including farm work on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula.
The Tundra RDH conversion program began last year, in partnership with Walkinshaw Automotive Group, known for its vast experience with AWD vehicles.
The program set a new benchmark in Australia for the re-engineering of a full-sized pick-up truck from LHD to RHD. The conversion process involved adopting key components from Toyota's comprehensive global parts catalogue, including the steering column and rack, accelerator, brake pedals and shift lever which are pinched from the Toyota Land Cruiser 300 model.
Australian-specified Tundra variants are powered by the ‘i-Force Max’ 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 hybrid that develops 448 PS and a thumping 790 Nm of torque; the more powerful of two 3.5-litre V6s offered on the Tundra in the US market.
The engine is coupled to a 10-speed automatic transmission driving a part-time four-wheel drive system with a dual-range transfer case.
Some 300 potential customers will have the opportunity to lease the RHD Tundra as part of the real-world evaluation program; aptly dubbed the Tundra Insider Program. All 300 units are expected to be delivered by the end of April 2024.
Arvind can't remember a time when he didn't wheel around a HotWheels car. This love evolved into an interest in Tamiya and RC cars and finally the real deal 1:1 scale stuff. Passion finally lead to formal training in Mechanical Engineering. Instead of the bigger picture, he obsesses with the final drive ratio and spring rates of cars and spends the weekends wondering why a Perodua Myvi is so fast.
