A closer look at the Toyota Tamaraw Racing Concept
Here at the second leg of the Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippine Cup, Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippines has shown off the Tamaraw Racing Concept, a stripped-down, race ready study for the future of the Philippine Cup that is being made in collaboration with Autoplus Sports.
We got up close and asked Luis Gono of Autoplus for a breakdown of what makes this special truck tick and by what we were told, they are simply getting started.
Based on the Long Wheelbase Dropside (LWB) variant of the Tamaraw, it still utilizes the same 2.4-liter, four-cylinder turbodiesel (2GD-FTV) with the manual transmission, but with a few bolt-on modifications such as an AFE Power cold air intake, a larger intercooler, an HKS exhaust, plus an ECU remap to take advantage of the additional hardware. We were told the torque is said to be boosted up to 460Nm, up from 350Nm.
Aside from power, the only modifications done at the moment is the Tein suspension from an Innova; two leaf springs and the excess material from the dropside bed were removed from the back to aid with handling at the rear.
One of them features a carbon fiber hood, and the concepts are currently fitted with all-terrain tires, with varying wheels from the likes of Concept One, Rays and even one with stock wheels.
Currently, this truck is at stage 1 of modifications, according to Gono. Only a racing seat was fitted to prevent the drivers from sliding around, but the team will be collaborating for even more future modifications, such as a custom roll cage, wider fender flares, and the appropriate tires for drag and circuit use.
But instead of gradually building up the concept vehicle to an ideal stage, the team will be working in reverse by maxing out the limits of Tamaraw platform, and then work backwards to reach a reasonable limit for both racers and owners in terms of driveability and attainability.
Hopefully, we shall see the fruits of their labor in future Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippine Cup legs with a constantly evolving Tamaraw Racing Concept.
Photos by Sam Surla
