Toyota to reveal Tamaraw Racing Concept at TGR Street Race

Toyota Motor Philippines is going big in its return to hosting street races for next weekend’s Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippine Cup.

Aside from two days of racing action featuring the Vios one-make race cars, Toyota will also be taking this time to let Toyota Car Club members and GR owners loose on the Villar City Street Circuit. But not just that, Toyota has a surprise in store for its loyal fans – they will unveil a new racing concept version of the Tamaraw.

That’s right. Toyota’s really got some serious intentions at making the Tamaraw the next model for Philippine motorsports.

For now, we don’t quite have the information yet on what to expect with the new Tamaraw Racing Concept, but in the past when Toyota was still doing previews for the model, they fitted a prototype with bucket seats, lowered suspension, low profile tires with lightweight wheels, and a rollcage.

Over in Thailand where the Tamaraw is called the Hilux Champ, a few examples are already racing in the Super Pickup series. Over there, the Hilux Champ has a distinct front bumper with a splitter, and a design that prioritizes powertrain cooling.

The familiar 2GD-FTV turbodiesel is upgraded with a bigger turbo, custom exhaust, redesigned intake, and an uprated fuel delivery system to push power outputs beyond the factory 150 PS and 400 Nm of torque.

Let’s see if the new Tamaraw Racing Concept could spur another one make race from Toyota, or entice other manufacturers to create a pickup racing championship in the country.