Toyota Hilux With Side-Exiting Exhaust Flexes Supra 2JZ Engine at the Drag Strip

The plain-looking truck you see here is a 1994 Hilux, part of the fifth generation of compact pickups that Toyota produced from 1988 to 1997. It was a great workhorse but not as impressive as, say, the GMC Syclone in terms of performance. Well, the owner fixed that by dropping a Supra-sourced six-cylinder mill under the hood.

The 2JZ is arguably the most iconic Toyota engine. Not only it powered the fourth-generation Supra, but it's also being used regularly in drag cars. It easy to mod, it can crank out well in excess of 1,000 horsepower, and it's rock-solid reliable. Are you surprised to see it in a truck? You shouldn't be; this has happened before!

Anyway, while this Hilux may look plain from a distance, a closer look reveals a set of drag-spec tires, including meaty rubber at the back. It also packs a cooling system in the bed and a short exhaust system that sees the exhaust pipe exiting through the front fender.

That exhaust pipe comes from the 2JZ-GTE engine under the hood. Sourced from the fourth-generation Supra, this engine has been modified, so it's safe to assume that it packs more than the stock unit, which was capable of up to 325 horsepower. But we're not looking at some ludicrous amount here. The mods seem to be light, at least based on the fact that the truck runs 12-second quarter miles.

That's definitely impressive, but what I like more about this truck is that it's completely road legal. Yes, not with those rear tires, but a quick swap with regular tires enables the owner to drive it to and from the drag strip.

It's pretty close to the high-performance truck that Toyota should have offered back in the 1990s.