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by SEMA, Photo Credit: KGP Photography
The shooters at KGP Photography caught the ’16 Toyota HiLux pickup testing in a revealing state of graphic camouflage. Given that a new Toyota Tacoma is due for the U.S. market on a similar timeframe, perhaps these HiLux spy shots are a preview of the design direction to be seen on Toyota's redesigned midsize pickup.
The seventh-generation HiLux saw a distinct design departure from the U.S. market Tacoma, with HiLux getting a more aerodynamic front fascia and cab design than the U.S. model. These new shots of an eighth-generation HiLux prototype reveal a truck that looks a bit less aero than the current model, with a countenance that looks more like a traditional American truck. The new lines look more consistent with something we could see in U.S. showrooms, which bears the question of just how much of the next Tacoma could we be seeing in this unauthorized look at the foreign-market HiLux prototype?
A new Tacoma is in the works for the United States, with KGP's exclusive shots of a Tacoma mule caught testing in the Southwest. That mule didn't give up any design details, but an all-new interior is in the works, along with what appeared to be a massaged version of the current platform with similar size and packaging.
KGP is still on the lookout for full-on, U.S.-spec Tacoma prototypes to hit the testing scene on U.S. soil. For now, it's unknown whether this HiLux prototype provides any foreshadowing for the new Tacoma that's coming to battle in a rejuvenated midsize pickup market in America.