Top Gear's Indestructible Toyota Hilux Just Met Its Electric Descendant and a Falling Caravan
The electric pickup survived the drop with only modest damage, and Toyota says it can carry 1,065kg and tow 3.5 tonnes.
- Toyota recreated the iconic Top Gear caravan drop at Bentwaters airfield in Suffolk, dropping a caravan weighing more than three-quarters of a tonne 30 feet onto its new electric Hilux's cab.
- Following a Reddit poll across UK subreddits, users voted overwhelmingly for the caravan test over a wrecking ball challenge, echoing a stunt from more than 20 years ago where Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond failed to destroy the original Hilux.
- The truck bore only modest bodywork scars and powered up immediately after impact, driving off silently from the scene. Chris Hayes, Director of Products and Services Division, said the Hilux "has earned its reputation as the world's toughest pick-up."
- Available with battery-electric or Diesel power, the Hilux handles payloads up to 1,065kg and tows trailers up to 3.5 tonnes, positioning it as far more than a workhorse.
- Toyota has now handed the electric Hilux keys to the Top Gear YouTube channel, where the vehicle may face even tougher challenges ahead.
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32 Articles
Admittedly, an everyday test looks different, but you want to see this spectacular PR stunt after all: Toyota has dropped a commercial caravan on a brand new electric hilux. Result: caravan destroyed, pick-up drives away.
Top Gear's Indestructible Toyota Hilux Just Met Its Electric Descendant and a Falling Caravan
Let's rewind for a minute to 2003, because none of this would make sense without some context. BBC Top Gear, back when the three amigos were running the show, tried to destroy an old Toyota Hilux in ways that can only be described as overkill. Jeremy and James spent two episodes trying to deal the final blow, but to no avail. First they drove it down a flight of steps in Bristol, then into a tree. After that, BBC Top Gear chained the... (continu…
Toyota's British dealership has repeated the legendary attempt from the BBC's Top Gear motoring show to test the immortality of the Hilux model. It has once again dropped a giant caravan on the new electric pick-up.
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