Very Arctic: Toyota Tacoma Polar Expedition Truck
Not exactly built for Australia's climate is this Toyota Truck which was recently sold for about 72,000 USD on ebay. This snow monster has been rebuild from top to bottom to suit the arctic weather at our earth's poles. This particular vehicle made the race to the south pole and back in less than 40 hours.
Under the bonnet beats a supercharged 4L V6 engine, connected to a specially-tuned transmission, a suspension and undercarriage from Marconi, a steel body, four racing seats, an engine heater, upgraded batteries, a solar panel, and not less than seven (7) fuel tanks with a total capacity of about 1250 liters fuel. Pity the fool who has to fill up this thirsty beast.
The vehicle was designed to travel the severe winter weather of Antarctica and set a land speed record to the South Pole. In 2011, Jason De Carteret, a renowned adventurist, using "Polar" broke two Guinness records crossing the Antarctic ice cap from Patriot Hills to the South Pole and back: 39 hours and 54 minutes, at an average speed of 48 kph.
The engine produces a strong output of 341 bhp. While the transmission was specially calibrated to allow for the extra hp and torque, as well as the high, low and standard gears added. The body is all steel, ranging from 9-12mm (military strength) thickness. Each panel is custom fabricated and hand-welded.
The dashboard, doors, windows are standard Toyota Tacoma. Polar has four racing seats (the rears capable of accepting child seats) and harnesses. The cabin is fully insulated, lined with steel for extreme protection, and has a full rollcage. It is fitted with 4 HD camera's, 3 inside the cab and one outside and two GPS devices - one is a large mapping unit which functions as a secondary speedometer, the other unit is a normal Satnav that links via Bluetooth to the engine management system. The navigation menus still contain the routing through Iceland (testing ground) and for the South Pole run!
Polar's custom made three piece wheels are shod with massive 44" Dick Cepek tires.
