- Toyota Tacoma TRD ProRunner Race concept to debut at 2024 SEMA show
- Concept imagines a Tacoma built for desert racing
- Concept also celebrates Toyota's partnership with Legacy Motor Club NASCAR team
Toyota has a plan for hardcore off-roaders at the 2024 SEMA show starting on Tuesday in Las Vegas. There, it will introduce the Tacoma TRD ProRunner Race concept, a high-performance truck based on the latest Tacoma midsize pickup and designed to run at off-road races like the Baja 1000.
It joins the previously revealed 4Runner TRD Surf and Land Cruiser ROX concepts in Toyota's SEMA show lineup, and may hint at a new version of the Tacoma designed to go up against the Ford Ranger Raptor.
Toyota Tacoma TRD ProRunner Race concept
The concept is based on a 2025 Tacoma with the two-door XtraCab body, and adopts many of the off-road upgrades of the TRD Pro, a model that only comes with a four-door body. Among the upgrades are the TRD Pro's 2.5-inch Fox Quick Switch 3 internal bypass dampers with rear remote reservoirs, as well as TRD upper control arms at the front. Additional underbody protection has also been added to protect elements like the engine bay, transmission, and rear axle.
Other upgrades include a custom roll cage, harnesses for a driver and navigator, and a 6-foot bed reinforced to protect an extra fuel storage and spare tire carrier. The tailgate was replaced with a net to help reduce weight. The concept truck also rides on stock TRD Pro wheels wrapped in BFGoodrich all-terrain tires.
Toyota Tacoma TRD ProRunner Race concept
No details on the powertrain were mentioned, but the stock Tacoma's most powerful option is a 2.4-liter turbo-4 hybrid setup good for 326 hp. Toyota at last year's SEMA show also presented a Tacoma street truck concept that packed a twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V-6 good for 421 hp, which would be the ideal option if Toyota wants to build a true Raptor rival.
All Toyota has said about the latest concept truck is that it is designed to compete in the Stock Midsize off-road racing class, and that its build celebrates the new partnership between Toyota and Jimmie Johnson's Legacy Motor Club NASCAR team, formerly Petty GMS Motorsports. The concept is also a nod to Johnson's early years competing on dirt bikes and later in off-road racing trucks, including in the Baja 1000, Toyota said.
Toyota Tacoma TRD ProRunner Race concept
Separately, Mike Tripp, Toyota's head of marketing for North America, said the concept also demonstrates the “versatility and capability” of the Tacoma platform.
