Toyota's UK team recreated a famous Top Gear-style stunt by dropping a camper onto its new all-electric Hilux pickup.
Toyota's UK division has put the new all-electric Hilux BEV through an unusual durability test inspired by the popular motoring show Top Gear. The challenge recreated one of the show's signature demolition-style stunts, putting the electric pickup directly in the path of a falling camper.
The test was chosen by Reddit users through an open poll launched by Toyota itself. The second-most popular suggestion was to hit the pickup with a wrecking ball. The stunt took place at Bentwaters Airfield in Suffolk, England, a location that has served as a filming site for segments of Top Gear.
For the main event, a crane lifted a camper weighing approximately 1,676 pounds to a height of nearly 30 feet before dropping it onto the Toyota Hilux BEV.
The impact left the camper far worse off than the pickup. The electric truck sustained only minor body damage, started without apparent difficulty, and drove away from the filming area under its own power.
Toyota has handed the Hilux BEV over to the editorial team behind the Top Gear YouTube channel for a series of tests. That means the falling-camper stunt may be just the beginning of the unusual challenges awaiting the electric pickup.