- Toyota’s new 2024 SEMA custom, the 4Runner TRD Surf, recalls rigs of the ’80s
- The automaker’s also bringing a Land Cruiser ROX, which peels back the top on a new LC
- The aftermarket-car-parts exhibition known as SEMA starts in early November
Ahead of the annual SEMA soirée in Las Vegas, Toyota has hauled the wraps off a pair of custom builds that will catch the attention of off-road gearheads — and, in true concept-car form, which (rightly) prioritizes coolness over practicality, neither of them has much of a roof.
First up is the Toyota 4Runner TRD Surf Concept, a machine which directly draw inspo from an era in the 1980s when the model was a staple of the California beach scene. At the time, it wasn’t uncommon to see a 4Runner cruising down the PCH with its removable hardtop off and a few surfboards sticking out of its profile. The new concept plays to those memories, shifting from a four- to two-door configuration and gaining provisions for a removable roof aft of the front seats.
The team did a lot more than just attacking a new 4Runner with a Sawzall and welding up the rear doors. “Engineering a legitimate, removable top; going from a four-door to a two-door while maintaining functional windows; flipping the front passenger seat for improved rear seat access; and adding two inches of width to both sides were all just tip-of-the-iceberg issues,” said Marty Schwerter, lead builder and Director of Operations at Toyota’s Motorsports Technical Center. In fact, the crew used CAD and modern 3D printing to shape cutlines and the like, whilst also sampling a few processes on a hapless fifth-gen 4Runner in prep for building the real thing.
Whilst the powertrain remains relatively stock from its roots as a 2025 TRD Limited (that’s a 2.4L turbocharged four making 278 horsepower) a long-travel suspension system features billet aluminum front upper and lower A-arms, the front axle is custom to the concept, and a Toyota Tundra rear end reside under the truck. At each corner are 37-inch off-road tires. The interior also gets weatherproof material.
Toyota’s other SEMA build is called the Land Cruiser ROX, also showing up as an open-air vision. Peeling off the roof and replacing it with a soft top involved extensive design work, including a binning of its pesky D-pillar and the addition of custom metal framework to ensure the truck doesn’t shake like a week-old salad. A swing-out tire carrier, drop-down tailgate, new bumpers — all of it result in a machine in which more than half of the vehicle has been replaced with new parts.
This year’s SEMA show kicks off under the bright lights of Las Vegas on November 5.
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