Toyota made our childhood dreams come true with a life-sized Tonka Truck

Sometimes playing with trucks is just something you don’t outgrow. Designers at Toyota Australia have built a concept HiLux pickup styled after the classic Tonka trucks.

The design team made some modifications off a 2016 SR5 double cab HiLux truck: they outfitted the concept vehicle with a 2.8-liter four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine, and it’s been raised up an additional six inches. It’s designed for off-roading, so it’s decked out with a heavy-duty suspension and 35-inch tires. It’s also got a snorkel! And a light bar! Oh, and they gave it a snazzy paint job to go along with it. It’s the truck you dreamed of owning when you were playing in the sandbox as a kid.

Toyota describes the HiLux concept vehicle as a “full-size dream toy for adults,” one that commemorates the truck becoming the best-selling vehicle in 2016, as well as a pair of global anniversaries for both Toyota and Tonka (80th and 70th, respectively). Honestly though? That’s not important. This is a project that’s clearly the result of everyone’s inner child taking over the design process, and it looks fantastic. I mean, just look at it! It looks like pure fun consolidated into truck form.

Image: Toyota / Hasbro

Image: Toyota / Hasbro

Image: Toyota / Hasbro

If you’re lucky enough to live in Australia, you have a chance to check the concept truck out in the coming months: Toyota is touring it around the country, with stops planned through June.