Skip to main content

The Toyota Hilux becomes an RC car for grown-ups (batteries not required)

You’ve grown up; so have your remote-controlled cars, as it turns out. Toyota’s British division has teamed up with RC car manufacturer Tamiya to build a modern, life-sized replica of a model car that marked an entire generation of kids. The Bruiser is bolder than ever, and this time you can actually slip behind the wheel and take it for a spin.

The original Tamiya Bruiser released in 1985 was inspired by Toyota’s Hilux pickup truck. Its modern counterpart is based on the current-day Toyota Hilux, a Tacoma-sized pickup truck sold in countless global markets but not in the United States. Toyota started the project with an Extra Cab model in a bid to preserve the Bruiser’s classic two-door proportions, and it enlisted a company named Arctic Trucks to install a long list of off-road-focused add-ons.

Recommended Videos

Making suspension modifications was crucial to get the look just right. Arctic Trucks lifted the Hilux off the ground by adding custom components from Fox Shox and 17-inch alloy wheels wrapped by immense BF Goodrich tires. It’s the exact same hardware used on trucks built to tackle grueling terrain on expeditions across the Arctic. Sizable fender flares and protective metal bars over the rocker panels complement the monster truck-like tires.

Meet the Toyota Hilux Bruiser

The livery is faithful to the original, right down to the “hog heaven” stickers on the doors and the white Toyota emblem on the tailgate. Toyota explains sourcing window louvers for a modern-day truck proved impossible, so it settled for a two-dimensional vinyl print that looks surprisingly realistic. No RC car would be complete without an on/off switch, and the Bruiser doesn’t disappoint. A look in the pickup box reveals a non-functional switch the size of a large tool box and magnetic clips modeled after the ones that hold the RC car together.

Toyota’s Bruiser replica retains the stock Hilux’s 150-horsepower, four-cylinder turbodiesel engine, so there’s no need to make engine noises with your mouth. It sends its power to all four wheels via a six-speed manual transmission. It’s fully street-legal, and it’s every bit as capable as its brawny design suggests. Toyota stresses it’s just a one-of model built to turn heads, but it promises to display the truck at various events in England over the coming months. After that, odds are it will join the Hilux-based real-life Tonka truck in the company’s collection of one-of-a-kind, childhood hero-inspired pickups.

Ronan Glon
Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…
Can electric car batteries be recycled?
electric car charging

The big promise of electric cars is that they’ll radically cut down on carbon emissions, helping fight climate change. And at first glance, they do so — after all, you don’t have to fill the tank with fossil fuels every few days, and there are no emissions from the car itself.

But the truth is a little murkier. Electric cars may not produce emissions themselves, but they have much bigger batteries requiring exotic metals, potentially creating a whole different environmental issue when those batteries near the end of their life span.

Read more
How much does an electric car battery cost?
Two Electrify America Charging Stations.

Electric cars are often hailed as being cheaper to operate and repair than gas-powered cars. It makes sense — on the operation side, you only need to pay for electricity (not gasoline), and on the repair side, there’s no motor or transmission to deal with.

But electric cars have other costly repairs, and while in total they do generally cost less than repairs for gasoline cars, it’s worth knowing about the potential costs ahead of time. Perhaps the most obvious, and one of the most costly, has to do with an electric car’s battery. After all, while all cars have batteries, those in electric cars are far bigger and more advanced — and thus can cost quite a bit to replace.
How much does an electric car battery cost?

Read more
How do electric cars work? EV motors and batteries explained
Electric GT e-Crate Motor Tesla battery

Electric vehicles function in fundamentally different ways than traditional cars. Internal combustion engines have loads of moving parts, and while EVs have their own complexities, they're much more digital than mechanical. Let's take a closer look at exactly how electric vehicles work.
How does an EV battery pack work?
Instead of gasoline, EVs derive their power from a battery pack, which usually stretches along the underside of the car to keep the weight as low as possible. It's composed of multiple modules, which are in turn broken down into individual battery cells, similar in size to AA batteries. A layer of coolant runs between cells since hot batteries are explodey batteries. A battery management system regulates that coolant and ensures that each cell drains at the same rate, which prolongs the life of the pack.

 

Read more