Toyota Aurion TRD 3.5 V6 Supercharged & Hilux TRD 4.0 V6 Supercharged

Toyota Australia is planning to unveil the Aurion TRD along with the Hilux TRD at the Melbourne International Motor Show on 2 March. Starting off with the Aurion TRD, this is the production version of the Aurion Sports Concept shown at the Australian International Motor Show in October 2006. Albeit a bit toned down in comparison with the concept, the Aurion TRD manages to stand out from the standard models thanks to a full bodykit that includes redesigned bumpers and a set of lovely black rims. Under the hood, the Aurion TRD hides a supercharged 3.5-litre V6 that drives the… front wheels. Personally I’d find that a good enough reason to go for a rear wheel-drive Ford Falcon or a Holden Commodore, but hey; that’s just me.

As for the Hilux TRD, now this sounds very, very interesting and I’m not talking about appearance here. See according to Toyota, the top-spec Hilux will be equipped with a supercharged 4.0-litre V6. As with the Aurion TRD, Toyota hasn’t announced any performance figures but I’m pretty certain that this “thing” has enough oomph stored under its hood for a perfect “tango” on a winding gravel mountain road… -Continued: Click “Read More…” below to check out the official press release

PRESS RELEASE: TOYOTA TO REVEAL TRD VEHICLES IN MELBOURNE

Toyota will use the Melbourne International Motor Show to reveal its new locally designed TRD range of prestige performance vehicles. The supercharged 3.5-litre V6 TRD Aurion sports sedan and the supercharged 4.0-litre V6 HiLux sports utility will be launched in Australia in 2007.

Both the TRD HiLux (shown as a concept in Melbourne) and TRD Aurion have extensive performance improvements in engine, brakes and suspension. TRD - for Toyota Racing Development - will become an important brand in Australia. TRD is the long-established umbrella for Toyota racing activities around the world.

The recently formed Toyota Style Australia has been responsible for exterior and interior design and Toyota's TRD Division has taken charge of mechanical specification. Key local suppliers have worked to achieve breakthrough TRD developments which have been endorsed and approved by Toyota's rigorous global quality system.

Toyota expects the TRD brand to provide additional customer engagement with its vehicles. Toyota Australia senior executive director sales and marketing David Buttner will reveal the TRD brand at the Melbourne International Motor Show on 2 March.