This Unassuming Toyota Hilux Is the Ultimate Sleeper

The Toyota Hilux has earned its reputation as one of the toughest vehicles on the planet. You typically don’t think of them as quick vehicles, though. The team at Mighty Car Mods is working to change that. Their third-generation Hilux is a tire-smoking, turbo-fluttering monster.

Mighty Car Mods found the truck for sale online. The previous owner already added the rather wonderful paintwork. All Mighty Car Mods needed to do was… change a whole lot of stuff. If you want to destroy tires the fun way, you need power.

From the factory, the engine in this Hilux likely produced under 100 horsepower. Marty and Moog swapped in a 2.7-liter four-cylinder 2TR engine from a later-model Hilux. On its own, that mill is good for around 160 hp. This one, however, breathes easier through the added turbocharger.

From there, the boys went a bit nuts adding on larger brakes, a front-mount intercooler, a three-inch custom exhaust, a custom driveshaft, and a limited-slip rear differential. A Haltech ECU handles the brains of this truck, which is important since the Hilux uses a drive-by-wire Subaru throttle pedal.

Once Moog finishes explaining the work, he fires up the truck and goes for a drive. There’s tons of turbo noise and flutter from the wastegate. It’s clear the truck now packs quite a bit more punch. But the moment that seals just how fun this truck really is happens when Moog throws it into a drift and laughs his head off. That laughter tells you everything you need to know.

Builds like this are tremendous fun. You take something relatively mundane and give it new life as a vehicle ready to deliver smiles and laughter. And this one definitely qualifies as a serious sleeper.  

People tend to overuse that term a bit. But this turbocharged Toyota Hilux fits the bill. What was likely once an old workhorse now dazzles with its brilliant livery, glorious noises, and smoke-filled burnouts on command.