2023 Toyota HiLux GR Sport unveiled, due in Australia this year

The 2023 Toyota HiLux GR Sport – the boldest and most powerful special edition version yet – was revealed overnight ahead of its arrival in Australian showrooms later this year.

Previous versions of the Toyota HiLux GR Sport have been launched in Europe, Japan, Thailand and South Africa over the past two years, but the flagship never made it to Australia. Until now.

Toyota says the bold new nose is designed in a wind tunnel to provide ample cooling to the upgraded version of the Toyota HiLux 2.8-liter four-cylinder turbo diesel enginewhich had a 10 percent increase in power and torque 165kW and 550 Nm.

Photos of the 2023 Toyota HiLux GR Sport released by Toyota overnight show the new top-of-the-line model has the same wider track and flared fender arches as the recently updated Toyota HiLux Rogue, but gets all-terrain tires, heavy-duty suspension, rear points for recovery and durable ‘rock sliders’ instead of side steps.

The Toyota HiLux GR Sport gets paddle shifters on the steering wheel for drivers who want to manually select ratios in the revised six-speed automatic transmission, which has been recalibrated to handle the extra power and sportier ride.

The 2023 Toyota HiLux GR Sport also gets four-wheel disc brakes (replacing rear drum brakes, like the latest version of the Toyota HiLux Rogue) and new lower control arms for the front suspension.

The rear shock absorbers have been moved outside the chassis rails for better on-road stability and off-road wheel articulation.

Toyota says new single-tube shock absorbers with higher damping force and heat dissipation capacity – and stiffer front coil springs – are designed to improve front-rear suspension balance.

The four-piston front brake calipers and 338mm front discs are the same highly-regarded devices as the standard vehicle, but the brake calipers are painted in GR Sport Red.

The 312 mm rear discs are clamped by a single-piston ‘floating’ caliper, as in the Toyota HiLux Rogue.

The tires on the 2023 Toyota HiLux GR Sport shown in press photos appear to be less aggressive than the off-road tires seen on the prototypes caught on camera in Thailand.

The 2023 Toyota HiLux GR Sport is equipped with 17-inch alloy wheels (which offer better availability of hard-terrain rubber), compared to 18-inch wheels on the Toyota HiLux Rogue and Toyota HiLux SR5.

As with the latest Toyota HiLux Rogue, the front and rear axles are longer (for a total of 140 mm wider front track and 155 mm wider rear track). The wider footprint is intended for better stability.

Australian pricing and arrival times for the 2023 Toyota HiLux GR Sport are yet to be announced. As a guide, the latest version of the Toyota HiLux Rogue starts at $70,200 plus on-road costs.

Toyota Australia says the new range-topping Toyota Hilux GR Sport – which effectively replaces the hugely popular Toyota HiLux Rugged X which was discontinued late last year – should be in local showrooms by the end of 2023.

As with the Toyota HiLux Rogue, the locally sold Toyota HiLux GR Sport is expected to be built in Thailand before finishing touches (rear recovery points and ‘rock sliders’) are added at Toyota Australia’s dedicated final assembly facility in to the former Toyota Camry factory. place in Melbourne.

The company says engineers from Toyota Australia – Toyota’s global center of expertise for four-wheel drive vehicles – were involved in the development of the 2023 Toyota HiLux GR Sport, working with colleagues in Latin America, Thailand and Japan.

Along with a redesigned grille – featuring a TOYOTA logo said to be inspired by the HiLux of the 1980s – the 2023 Toyota HiLux GR Sport gets paddle shifters behind the steering wheel, a rally-style top dead center red line badge on the steering wheel rim, GR badges on steering wheel trim, GR badging on the starter button and instrument panel, and redesigned GR Sport partial leather seats with larger side bolsters.

Previous versions of the Toyota HiLux GR Sport sold abroad were equipped with the same 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel engine (150kW/500Nm) as the other HiLux variants.

However, the 2023 Toyota HiLux GR Sport received a 10 percent increase in power and torque (165kW at 3000rpm and 550Nm at 2800rpm).

Although the 2023 Toyota HiLux GR Sport is the most powerful Toyota HiLux diesel to date, it’s no match for the Ford Ranger Raptor’s twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 petrol (292kW/583Nm) mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission and all. -wheel drive.

Toyota’s previous high-performance pick-up in Australia – the supercharged V6 petrol Toyota HiLux TRD Edition introduced in 2008 – had 225kW and 453Nm of power and torque.

As reported yesterday, the Toyota HiLux was Australia’s best-selling vehicle in the new car sales race for the seventh consecutive year in 2022 – and the first nameplate to exceed 60,000 deliveries in a calendar year since the Holden Commodore in 2005.

The recently facelifted Toyota HiLux Rogue – and the arrival of the 2023 Toyota HiLux GR Sport – are intended to keep the HiLux fresh against its newer competition (Ford Ranger and Isuzu D-Max) as this generation enters its eighth year of production.

Below is the technical information Toyota Australia has provided so far on the 2023 Toyota HiLux GR Sport.

The 2023 Toyota HiLux GR Sport edition is the first to be offered in Australia.

At least four different takes on the Toyota HiLux GR Sport theme were previously sold in different markets around the world.

Previous versions of the Toyota HiLux GR Sport have had different grille and front bumper treatments – and different wheel designs – across Europe, Thailand, Japan and South Africa.

Here’s how they compared them.

The previous Thai variant of the Toyota HiLux GR Sport pictured below:

The previous Japanese version of the Toyota HiLux GR Sport pictured below:

The previous European version of the Toyota HiLux GR Sport pictured below:

The previous South African variant of the Toyota HiLux GR Sport pictured below: