Back To The Future Toyota Tribute Truck

• October 22, 2015
• Story By
  Ali Mansour

Toyota is on a roll this year with its concept 4x4s. Earlier this year, we got to see the company’s one-off Sienna 4x4 van (check it out here) and now, the company is taking a trip back in time with the Back To The Future Tacoma tribute truck. While the DeLorean time machine is the most well-known vehicle from the movie franchise, McFly’s 1985 Toyota dream pickup is equally recognizable for fans of the film trilogy. To celebrate the 30^th Anniversary of the BTTF films, Toyota reimagined the 1985 Toyota pickup with one of its newly redesigned Tacomas. While there’s obviously a significant difference between the classic Toyota and the modern-day Tacoma, the company went to great lengths to try and line up as many period-correct details as possible. Out of the gate, Toyota new they had to get the color right. While some may think black is black, to a true auto enthusiast, you can tell the difference. To get the Tacoma tribute as spot on as possible, it was painted with a black paint code that was true to the original truck in 1985. To recapture the aggressive stance of the 1985 truck, Toyota fit the Tacoma with a custom suspension system that added a little height and off-road performance. Given that 1985 was the last year of the solid-axle front end (something we dearly miss), the company got as close as they could to the heart of the movie truck. It’s not the BTTF truck without the bed mounted light bar and KC Lights. This, along with the tube rear bumper and classic tailgate with the large TOYOTA stamping were nice touches. The headlights and taillights were both throwback features as well. Of course, a custom tube front bumper with the KC Lights were must to complete the look. Mud flaps from a 1985 Toyota truck? Check. Somewhere there is a guy looking for a new set for his. This concept has just given him hope! One little bobble in the replication was that the original truck actually had Goodyear tires, not BFGs. The TRD wheels however do have a similar black and silver theme. The "D-4S" badge was an especially clever truck for those who remember trucks from that period. This was actually a badge promoting that the engine was fuel injected. This was something Toyota was just moving into in 1985. While we're sure this model was adorned with the new V6, you can still get an inline-four cylinder engine in the Tacoma platform. Want to see how the tribute compares to the original? Check out the video clip below!