After last year’s Specialty Equipment Market Association auto show was canceled, manufacturers were forced to put various projects on hold, if not scrap them altogether. However, with the 2021 SEMA Show now in full swing, automakers and aftermarket outfits are making up for lost time by showing off massive fleets of one-off creations. One such brand is Toyota, which has just revealed more than half-a-dozen bespoke builds made specially for the Las Vegas event.
Alongside a pair of GR Supra projects, the Japanese brand has rolled out a handful of off-road-focused builds — some of which were previously unveiled in recent months — including the TRD Sport Trailer, a thoroughly lifted and heavily-accessorized new Tundra, a ruggedized and well-appointed Tacoma Overlanding Concept, and a 1980s-inspired “Tacozilla” Tacoma Camper. The most noteworthy of the bunch is almost certainly the newly-revealed TRD Desert Chase Tundra build. Starting with the new third-generation Tundra, this TRD Pro-spec project was developed in collaboration with Marty Schwerter at the Toyota Motorsports Garage and has been gifted a slew of off-road-focused upgrades to make it even more capable in the dirt. This includes a long-travel suspension setup linked to the Tundra’s stock mounting points, a composite wide body kit, custom 18″ forged aluminum Method Race Wheels shod in 37″ all-terrain rubber, a full skid plate, bespoke steel bumpers, and a RIGID LED light bar that can be electronically lowered or raised. Out in back, the bed of this high-performance pickup has received a bespoke roll bar, an off-road jack, ARB Tred Pro recovery boards, a set of full-size spares set in a custom rack, a 15lb CO2 bottle, and additional fuel and water containers. Powering the Tundra is Toyota’s hybrid i-FORCE MAX twin-turbocharged 3.5L V6 that’s been paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission and is good for a cool 437hp and 583ft-lbs of torque.
Brilliantly demonstrating the Tundra TRD Pro’s potential for modifications and upgrades, the Toyota TRD Desert Chase Tundra project is currently on display in the central hall of the Las Vegas convention center where the 2021 SEMA Show is being held, where it will remain until the show’s conclusion on November 5th.
