New Toyota Hilux GR-S wields 165 kW of Gazoo venom

New Toyota Hilux GR-S wields 165 kW of Gazoo venom

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Toyota South Africa is honing its Hilux bakkie with the GR Sport aka GR-S moniker that comes with a range of unique design elements as well as dynamic tweaks to differentiate it from its counterparts.

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Based on the 2.8 GD-6 4x4 variant, there's a lot going on with how the Hilux GR-S looks, of course. It wears a new suit in the form of a large and prominent black front grille, a horizontal crossbar, plus oversized Toyota lettering.

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The LED headlights also boast a special treatment that's further complemented by vertically-stacked air ducts with integrated LED fog lights. The Hilux GR-S borrows its bumper from the Raider variant, and to make a strong case for itself as a sportier version, the bumpers spawn wider black overfenders with contrasting inserts.

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While the black shade has become the new sexy, the Hilux GR-S gets darkened mirror caps, black door handles, black side steps, as well as a rear styling bar with GR insignia. For added appeal, GR side decals on the doors can be fitted at an extra fee. The Hilux GR-S can be bought in a choice of four exterior colours that mimic the GR brand shades; Arizona Red, Graphite Grey, Attitude Black, and Glacier White.

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To remind occupants that they're inside something sportier, the interior of the Hilux GR-S gets a new instrument cluster with metallic bezels and red needles; a bespoke leather steering wheel with red stitching, and aluminium pedals — features you won't find on another Hilux model. Not a standard one, at least.

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Unlike the brushed finish in the Legend models, the GR-S variant features carbon fibre trim, red accent trim, race-inspired front seats with Alcantara inserts, GR branding on the headrests, red accent panels, and power adjustment for the driver's seat.

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For enhanced handling prowess on and off the beaten track, the Hilux GR-S is bolstered with new monotube shock absorbers, stiffer coil springs, and 17" alloy wheels finished in Titanium.

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Under the hood beats the familiar 2.6-litre 4-cylinder unit with 165 kW and 550 Nm of torque - an increase of 15 kW and 50 Nm over the standard Hilux 2.6 GD-6 4x4. Although the GR-S moniker is supposed to only focus on cosmetics and handling upgrades, Toyota took initiative by fiddling with the ECU to enhance the power figures.

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With the power upgrades, the Hilux GR-S 4x4 is 0.65 seconds quicker off the line while shuffling through a revised 6-speed automatic transmission with an auto-limited-slip differential.

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The Hilux GR-S' specifications match those of the Legend model except for the omission of an auto-dimming rear-view mirror and JBL sound system. However, it adds a panoramic view monitor.

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The Hilux GR-S 2.8 GD-6 4x4 6AT carries a price tag of R865,400 and that includes a 9-service/90,000 km service plan and a 3-year/100,000 km warranty. Service and warranty plan extensions can also be purchased from any Toyota dealer.

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Like all new Toyotas, the Hilux GR-S gets Toyota Connect, including a complimentary 15 GB in-car Wi-Fi allocation. 

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