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2022 Toyota Tundra Rendered With Evolutionary Design, Hybrid V6 Expected

Way back in 1986, Toyota built its first car on U.S. soil in the guise of a Corolla at the Fremont manufacturing plant that’s currently operated by Tesla. Just about 13 years later, the Japanese automaker rolled out the Tundra full-size pickup truck.
2022 Toyota Tundra rendering by Kolesa.ru 8 photos
Photo: Kolesa.ru
2022 Toyota Tundra rendering by Kolesa.ru2022 Toyota Tundra rendering by Kolesa.ru2015 Toyota Tundra Bass Pro Shops Off-Road Edition2015 Toyota Tundra Bass Pro Shops Off-Road Edition2015 Toyota Tundra Bass Pro Shops Off-Road Edition2015 Toyota Tundra Bass Pro Shops Off-Road Edition2015 Toyota Tundra Bass Pro Shops Off-Road Edition
As opposed to the commercial success of the Corolla in this part of the world, the Tundra has failed to capture the American public for pretty obvious reasons. First of all, Toyota doesn't have the experience of and won't catch up with domestic automakers in this segment. But most importantly, the Tundra is prohibitively expensive for many customers.

For the 2021 model year, the $33,675 starting price gets you the double cab with the standard bed, rear-wheel drive, a six-speed automatic, and the i-Force V8 with 381 horsepower at the crankshaft. As far as standard features are concerned, the entry-level SR trim has got you covered with day-to-day essentials such as touchscreen infotainment and the TSS-P safety suite.

Although it’s good value for the money at first glance, the Tundra can’t compete with the F-150, Ram 1500, Silverado, and Sierra in terms of starting price, available configurations, payload and towing capacities, and off-road shenanigans. The reliability record isn’t excellent either, and it baffles me to see how little this truck has changed in the 7 years since the last redesign.

For 2022, however, Toyota is launching an all-new truck with all-new underpinnings and no V8 option. Reports in the Japanese media suggest that all of the automaker’s V8 development programs have been canned in favor of turbos and electrified powertrains, and this gets us to the F1.

Also known as the TNGA-F, the ladder-frame chassis of the 2022 Tundra isn’t designed with eight-cylinder mills in mind. At most, you can look forward to six cylinders, forced induction, and hybrid assistance for the full-size pickup.

Not that long ago, an inside source let it slip that the Tundra would get the 3.5-liter engine from the Lexus LS 500 in combination with the lithium-ion battery and electric motor of the Lexus LS 500h. The tipster also said that 450 horsepower and 500 pound-feet are doable, along with 30-plus MPG.

Until Toyota comes clean about F1-based models like the half-ton workhorse, Russian motoring publication Kolesa has treated us to a speculative rendering of the next-generation truck. The bling-bling grille flanked by small headlights is complemented by a big-rig hood in the style of Ram, the side profile is more American than ever, and the tailgate is beautifully minimalist in design.

Even the rear bumper has been rendered with utility in mind, and the accent line on the sides of the bed and front fenders adds to the visual appeal of this truck. Whatever the future holds in terms of exterior design, Toyota has to make a case for a lower starting price. Without entry-level retail customers and the deep pockets of fleet operators, sales figures will never take off with so many competitors fighting for the same pool of prospective buyers.

As a brief refresher, the Tundra finished 2019 with 111,673 sales in the United States. The Ford F-Series moved 896,526 examples, Ram finished second in the rankings with 633,694 trucks, and the Chevy Silverado sold 575,569 units.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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