Toyota Tundra TRD Hammer Could Be the Ultimate Raptor Rival

The Toyota Tundra TRD Pro is a brilliant off-road pickup, but it doesn’t have the power or extreme capabilities of the Ford F-150 Raptor. But the signs are there that Toyota may be cooking up a Raptor rival, with the latest indication yet being a Toyota trademark for the TRD Hammer name. This follows a survey Toyota quietly ran recently, whereby participants had to vote for the name of a future high-performance pickup truck package. One of those names was TRD Hammer, and the trademark filing suggests it’s the name of the mystery model.

What To Expect From a Tundra TRD Hammer

While Toyota has not confirmed an F-150 Raptor rival, an insider told The Drive that such a model was in development a few years ago. That, combined with the customer survey and the new trademark on the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s website, suggests a much tougher pickup is on its way.

In the customer survey, participants had to choose between the following names:

TRD Baja
TRD Iron
TRD Pro-S
TRD Hammer
TRD Bizurk
TRD Quake

The survey referenced a package “designed for off-road enthusiasts.” It also named some features, like a long-travel suspension, wider fenders, high-clearance bumpers, a powerful engine, and 37-inch all-terrain tires. All of that sure sounds like an F-150 Raptor competitor.

The Tundra’s most powerful current engine is the 437-horsepower V6 hybrid, which isn’t too far off the 450 hp produced by the standard V6 Raptor. The Ford can be equipped with 37-inch tires, too, and its special shocks and dampers can take a real beating over rough terrain.

What It Means

Toyota has never had a direct rival to the mighty F-150 Raptor, so it would mark a significant expansion of its full-size pickup lineup. It would also be a different type of off-roader, as the TRD Pro is more of a low-speed trail off-roader than a high-speed desert jumper like the Raptor. More than this, the TRD Hammer could serve as a true halo truck and significantly boost the image of the Tundra range as a whole, which lags behind its American rivals in sales.

A Tundra TRD Hammer would also fit in perfectly with Akio Toyoda’s statement a few years ago. The chairman of Toyota promised there’d be “no more boring cars” from the Japanese marque, and releases like the GR Corolla, RAV4 GR Sport, and even the electric C-HR have been anything but boring. A super Tundra pickup could take that same performance spirit from the road to the desert, mounting a real challenge to Ford in the process.