What do you think about when you hear South Africa? Three capitals, the natural beauty, Nelson Mandela, the apartheid system that ended in '94? Well, you can add insanely cool trucks to the already impressive list.
We’ve recently covered a V8-swapped Hilux with 6.2 liters of AMG magic from the previous-generation C 63. As for the Hilux in the following video and pictures, this fellow cranks things up to eleven with a force-fed V12 swap.
Brought to my attention by Double Apex managing editor Sudhir Matai, the balls-to-the-wall bakkie is the pride and joy of Francois Fritz of FatBoy Fab Works. Inspired by a V12-swapped and twin-turbocharged Toyota Quantum minivan, Francois decided that he needed 12 cylinders and forced induction over the single-cab pickup’s original 3.0-liter turbo diesel lump.
The oil-chugging engine was previously modified with a compound twin-turbo setup for a respectable 212 kW and 680 Nm (284 horsepower and 502 pound-feet), figures that pale in comparison to the Century-sourced plant. Strapped to the dyno, the V12-engined Hilux recorded 402 kW and 970 Nm (539 horsepower and 715 pound-feet) of torque at 0.7 bars of boost.
Two 63-millimeter Garrett GT35 spinny boys complement the 5.0-liter engine that’s codenamed 1GZ-FE in Toyota’s vernacular. A Spitronics engine management system controls pretty much everything under the hood, and the suck-squeeze-bang-blow is channeled to the rear wheels by the Century’s four-speed automatic transmission and a custom-fabricated drive shaft.
The diff lock and rear end are both stock according to Francois, which is pretty mad for such a high-output build. Specifically built for dealing with the Simola Hillclimb course, the Hilux experienced a small electrical issue that resulted in less-than-ideal times. Be that as it may, Francois had a lot of fun and few people can deny the wow factor of a workhorse that's capable of making a tuned fourth-generation Toyota Supra blush with admiration.
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. Full profile
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