Yahoo Autos Toyota launches a Hilux pickup designed to tame the Arctic
Toyota joined forces with Arctic Trucks to create an evolution of the mighty, Tacoma-sized Hilux that's right at home on some of the planet's most challenging terrain. Called AT35, it was designed specifically to let scientists and adventurers reach places where the notion of a beaten path is completely unheard of.
Arctic Trucks started with the double-cab Invincible X model, which is one of the more user-friendly and less utilitarian variants of the Hilux sold on the European market. Its first order of business was to re-engineer the frame. It then installed a beefier suspension system developed jointly with Bilstein and tucked 35-inch all-terrain tires under punched-out wheel arches. The modifications increase the Hilux's ride height by 2.5 inches, and they give it approach and departure angles of 38 and 29 degrees, respectively, increases of nine and three degrees.
Fitting taller, wider tires is a way to increase the Hilux's well-documented off-road prowess. Going big also makes the truck more comfortable while traveling at relatively high speeds over rough terrain; it's not a coincidence that the recently-introduced 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor ships on 35-inch tires, too.
