Toyota Tundra Diesel Dually Project Truck

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What is it?
Toyota Tundra Diesel Dually Project Truck

What's special about it?
Toyota says its Tundra Diesel Dually Project Truck makes a "bold and adventurous statement about the contrasts between rugged 'Road Warrior' performance and opulent luxury."

We'd say that's an understatement. Diesel-powered trucks offer utility, true. But the 8.0-liter Hino inline-6 engine shoehorned under the hood of this CrewMax has been built to pull a 35,000-pound commercial truck to the dump, not get your pickup truck to Home Depot. It's rated at 256 horsepower at 2,500 rpm and 745-pound-feet of torque at 1,500 rpm. Unsurprisingly, the Tundra now uses an Eaton five-speed manual truck (a real truck) transmission, and the rear end from a Hino commercial truck.

A massive drivetrain means massive rolling stock, so this custom truck rolls on 22.5-inch forged aluminum wheels custom-made by Alcoa and enormous 295/R6022.5 Michelin Energy rubber. The stock suspension has been tossed aside, as you might well imagine. Out back, suspension struts with Bilstein dampers work in conjunction with a Deaver spring pack. This should come in handy should you decide to put the Reese 24,000-pound 5th-wheel tow hitch to the test.

There are a few other external cues to let everyone at the truck stop know they can just call you "Big Hoss." The 6.5-foot bed rides atop a lengthened frame, and the whole thing is covered in diamond plate. The rear bumper is also made from diamond plate, and the trim is brushed nickel — like your gun. There are PIAA P4000 Quattro lights on top of the cab, and LED clearance lights on the side and back of the cab.

Just as Toyota promises, the interior couldn't be more of a stark contrast with the conventional Tundra. If you're at that aforementioned truck stop, you might want to jump in quickly and slam that door so nobody sees the hand-sewn, French-stitched leather upholstery for the seats (in ginger brown, no less). They complement the taupe suede-upholstered door pillars and headliner fabulously.

The brushed-satin aluminum dash panel adds a touch of ruggedness to the interior while the Kenwood touchscreen navigation unit ain't bad, either. The rear bench seat has been chucked aside in favor of dual captain's chairs and a center console that houses the electronics for dual rear-seat DVD entertainment.

There's a trend toward luxury SUVs and hard-core tough pickups, and Toyota has obviously taken it to the next level.

What's Edmunds' take?
If you're into throwing around such literary gems as "Hoss" and "Big Tex," this truck will make you put your 10-gallon hat on your chest and kneel down in homage. And we like it. Heck, it'd be un-American not to. — James Tate, Contributor