TV star Toyota Aussie bound?

The truck Top Gear took to the North Pole could be coming to Australia.

The balloon-tyred Artic Trucks Toyota HiLux is an Icelandic conversion of the one-tonne Ute that frequently tops Australia’s best sellers’ charts. But many people perhaps best know it from when Jeremy Clarkson and his mates took the Arctic Trucks’ version to the Magnetic North Pole in 2007 and made a Top Gear documentary out of the perilous trip.

Since then Arctic Trucks (first established in 1990) has ridden the boom and bust Iceland economy and is now rebuilding on an export basis. It has military contracts with Norway and Sweden, does guiding and support work primarily in the Antarctic and has expanded into the UAE as well as various cold weather markets.

And now the company’s chairman and founder Emil Grimsson says Australia is on the radar as a new export market for the HiLux and other conversions it does such as the Prado SUV. An example of the now superseded 120 series was also part of the successful Top Gear expedition.

“We eventually would like to come to Australia,” Grimsson confirmed.

“As we are set up now financially, we are not ready; we are not capable of taking on a market like that. But the reason I feel fairly comfortable about the hotter climate is we did vehicles for the Norwegian military for the hotter climates back in 2004 and they were very happy with the vehicles.”

Grimsson said there would have to be some specific development work for Australian outback conditions, but was confident the vehicles would work here.

“I do know if we took this car as is and used it in Outback Australia something would most likely come up, but the general dynamics of it I think are going to be surprisingly good for a lot of people,” he said.

“I think in Australia there is a lot of things we can learn.”

Grimsson was speaking to motoring.com.au this week during a Toyota Australia-sponsored trip to the island nation to drive both the HiLux and Prado on and off-road through some typically rugged Iceland conditions.

Arctic Trucks offers three tyres size for the HiLux from 35 through 38 to a massive 44 inches. The conversions include modifying the vehicles' chassis, altering the suspension geometry and cutting away body sections, as well as extending the wheelbase and altering the gearing.

Australian ARB diff lockers are part of the current package offered.

There are no engine modifications and the interiors are standard. However, the substantial modification of the chassis means Toyota Australia would be unlikely to offer a full warranty on an Arctic Trucks vehicle if they were retailed in Australia.

“We would continue to warranty any parts of an Arctic truck that were stock Toyota items, but anything that was modified would no longer be protected by us,” Toyota Australia public relations boss Mike Breen told motoring.com.au.

“We like the vehicles and if Emil and his team were to seriously investigate a move into Australia then we’d be happy to co-operate with them where possible. But Toyota has very strict limitations on warranty and we would have to work within that.”

In Sweden, the modification of a HiLux to 38-inch tyres costs about US$30,000 on top of the retail price of the vehicle. A 6x6 conversion costs around 150,000 Euro.

Look out in the next few days for motoring.com.au’s reviews of driving the Arctic trucks HiLux in spectacular Iceland.