4 x 4 Australia

SUPER CHARGED

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NO DREAMS are out of reach – just ask the team at American Vehicle Specialist­s (AVS) and you can go beyond the norm and end up behind the wheel of something like this uber-tough Toyota TRD Tundra. Yep, we know – Aussies are unfortunat­ely not given the chance to buy these big rigs through local Toyota dealers, but AVS can sort out a righthand drive version that looks and performs no different from the ones that trundle around US tracks. They can even go one almighty big step further and tweak the standard rig to produce something like this.

This Tundra is a one-off project from AVS and sports a raft of mods, not the least being the supercharg­ed 5.7-litre V8 petrol engine. In stock form the Tundra’s ‘regular’ 284kw-543nm 5.7litre V8 is impressive, but AVS thought a bit more stonk was necessary, fitting a Magnuson supercharg­er (courtesy of VCM Performanc­e), pushing power to 410kw and torque to a heady 745Nm. A TRD twin stainless steel exhaust system lets you know all about it, too.

Not wanting to stop there, AVS set to work on the body itself. This matte black bruiser is 230mm wider than the stock Tundra, courtesy of a set of Fiberwerx replacemen­t guards. AVS then widened the wheel track by 120mm via fitment of a long-travel suspension setup that pretty much ditched all the stock gear. Pro Comp 2.75-inch body internal bypass coilover dampers (which up the ride height by four inches) sport external reservoirs and work with replacemen­t cast alloy upper and lower control arms, with more robust ball joints enabling a huge 350mm of wheel travel up front. Additional work on the front end includes extended CV shafts and tie-rod extensions.

The rear end copped a similar working over; a Pro Comp kit lifts it by four inches, with additional leaf springs and longer shackles, combining with a 2.5-inch damper, behind the

AVS THOUGHT A BIT MORE STONK WAS NECESSARY, FITTING A SUPERCHARG­ER FOR 410KW AND 745NM

height gain. AVS filled those huge guards with a set of 35-inch Toyo Open Country M/TS, wrapped around XD Monster 20x9 alloy wheels.

Us-based Rock Slide Engineerin­g were the go-to for the Tundra barwork; the heavy-duty plate aluminium front bar houses an Ironman 4x4 12,000lb winch and it has provision for LED lighting in the centre and at either wing. Speaking of lighting up, a replacemen­t Rigid Industries grille sports a 20-inch Rigid Industries E-series light bar in the centre and D-series LEDS on each wing. Replacemen­t front headlights and rear tail-lights are courtesy of Spyder Auto.

Oh, and the schmick paint-job? Rob at RK Restoratio­ns waved his spray can over the big Toyota and the matte black wrap was applied by Exotic Graphics. It seems we’re back in black, indeed...

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 ??  ?? If you’ve always wanted a big US truck but thought it was out of the question – think again.
If you’ve always wanted a big US truck but thought it was out of the question – think again.
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CAST YOUR VOTE

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