Guinness World Record Toyota Tacoma Sold
Have you ever wanted to own a piece of Guinness World Records history? Well, hold onto that dream because you just missed your chance to purchase the custom-built 2010 Toyota Tacoma, called Polar, that holds two current world records for the fastest run to the South Pole. It was for sale earlier this month but has since been snatched up. However, that doesn't mean we might not see it show up on another internet sales site.
The Tacoma (see video at bottom) is reported to have more than $400,000 worth of modifications to it and includes the Guinness World Record certificate of authentication, which went to the new owner of Polar. The world-record-setting run in 2011 was not easy given the brutal temperatures and incredible terrain demands placed on the truck's chassis, not to mention the pressures put on the team members as well.
The vehicle was highlighted on the Discovery Channel's "World's Toughest Drive" show last year; the run included an international support team of three for the overland Antarctic expedition. According to the information from eBay, the vehicle sold for $72,000 after being modified with a cleaner, less exteme exterior look and painted NATO Green.
For more information about the truck in its origianl form, click here to read the ebay motors story from last year.
Thomas Briggs Photography images
Comments
Its a Hilux, not a Tacoma.
The company Arctic trucks who built it seem to think its a Tacoma.
" The vehicle used for this attempt is an AT44 built on Toyota Tacoma with a unique styling by Ian Nisbett Design. "
Quote taken from link below.
http://www.antarcticachallenge.com/Pages/5022
A Hilux????
WTF?
http://www.motoringbrigade.com/article/polar-expedition-toyota-tacoma/
$400k spent, so what's left that IS original?
I conclude that the truck in the video is not the same mentioned in this article. One in video is in fact a hilux but not the truck that broke guiness record.
Regardless of what it is, it is still bad a$$.
Tacoma? After all that modification, you still have a cramped uncomfortable cab. You'd have to be a midget to drive that thing without needing a chiropractor.
If the Asian truck makers would make their cabs a little roomier they would have a new customer--me. In the meantime, the Big 3 have a reliable and repeat customer.
@papa jim
What bull$hit.
Are you a 400lb obese person?
Most anyone can fit into a Taco, even a Ford Focus.
If what you are saying is true, why is it most American cars are small?
@papa jim
This truck was not built to be a comfortable grocery getter. They spent $400,000 on this, if utmost comfort was the goal $400,000 is enough to buy it. This is a purpose built vehicle not intended to comfortably drive downtown but to cross Antartica. Not breaking down and freezing is more important than comfort in that case.
Tacoma's are comfortable enough to fit 6ft tall people without complaint anyway. You must be huge.
Ozi would not approve! it does not have Deaver leaf springs! and on top of that, it has COIL springs! But that is one outrageous looking truck! and they took everything ugly off of it, and made it look great!
Hey! after seeing the truck everyone here says is the BEST truck in the world, (Toyota Hilux) that has drum brakes on the rear! I do not want to hear it anymore about the Chevy Silverado like mine that has them! and they work just fine! but when they need replacing? I will use a good disk conversion anyway!
@sandman4x4
They cannot get enough of them in Australia, although ancient 9yrs old. Incredibly bulletproof.
Cool truck. 72k for a 400K truck may seem like a good deal but this truck was run in the toughest environment in the world. Metal gets brittle and can crack or break in -45C or colder weather.
Buying this truck for bragging rights is like bragging that one's girlfriend used to date John Holmes.
Bin ridden hard and you'll never get to drive it to its full potential ;)
"If what you are saying is true, why is it most American cars are small?"
@Big AL Unlike some of the other crap you see on this site, you can take what I say to the bank.
Today, if what YOU say is true--you happen to live in a colony of what was once a functioning monarchy. People in your world are accustomed to being subjects of the monarch (and the monarch's friends and relatives and ... )
Before that you lived in New Jersey. Ahem! Yikes.
I want to be comfortable in my cars and trucks. I'm over six feet tall. I don't like folding myself into a bleeping pretzel to take a ride.
American cars today being so small is the result of 35 years of Washington policy that was so enamored with all things European that we now build cars that are half standard, and half metric. Think of how much that damned-fool crap THAT kind of crap costs.
The smaller size of American cars today has nothing to do with owner preference or what's practical.
Given the opportunity, Americans drive around in huge cars and SUVs. Every politician in Washington gets chauffered around at taxpayer expense in big Suburbans and Yukons. The streets are lined with them!
You never see some US Senator (unless it's a GD photo op!) driving some flimsy little eco-car...
Every college kid that gets a big sports contract practically races to the car lot and buys a huge SUV--they NEVER buy a Versa or a Honda Fit.
They sure as HELL don't buy a damned hybrid. Why is that Al? Americans love huge cars--we invented the damn things.
"You must be huge"
@anthony d85
That's what SHE said.
@LouBC
Actually Siberia is the place that's really hard on cars/trucks. It gets so cold there that the tires crumble.
@papa jim
You blew the credibility of your statement with your first and second paragraphs.
'Today, if what YOU say is true--you happen to live in a colony of what was once a functioning monarchy. People in your world are accustomed to being subjects of the monarch (and the monarch's friends and relatives and ... )
Before that you lived in New Jersey. Ahem! Yikes.'
As I've stated the reason why the US (and Aust, NZ, Canada) has had large vehicles is because after WWII it had the wealth and regulations that allowed it. The US wasn't destroyed by WWII.
It isn't that the people of the US are any different than the rest of 'us'.
The biggest reason for your large SUV and pickups is that CAFE and the chicken tax with sufficient wealth allowed for such an event to occur.
I'm not saying there isn't a market for full size trucks. But you truck market would be different.
Even now CAFE is going to force many Americans out of full size pickups. Economics driven by regulation is what has the main influence in car culture, not people.
@papa jim,
Outside of a growth in small cars,,most Australians preferred miidsize to RWD cars. Now it is a lot of so called midsize Pickups and a lot of midsize to large SUV's
Trucks like this are actually pretty common. The Hiluxs and perhaps Tacos too, are used a lot in Iceland and other nordic countries and modified with huge tires and expeditiion gear.
The one shown above is clearly way over the top but in case you only have say $80k and not $400k, you can have something pretty similar in terms of offroad capability.
@papajim - Antarctica is much colder than Siberia. Greenland's Icecap is second coldest.
Northern Canada and Eastern Siberia being the coldest places not totally covered in ice.
http://www.currentresults.com/Weather-Extremes/coldest-places-in-the-world.php
"Economics driven by regulation is what has the main influence in car culture, not people."
@Big Al
Is that an epilogue or a prologue?
Seriously, people making free choices about what they like, what to buy (and how often) is a pretty big deal in markets.
@LouBC
re: extreme cold. they have nights in the northern hemisphere in Siberia, Alaska, across parts of Canada where the overnight temps fall to 50, 60 below zero or worse.
At that point for internal combustion engines it's really academic if it gets any colder because the engines simply won't fire, or keep running. Thirty below is the worst I ever dealt with and the battery was the culprit, but I imagine that fuel systems become stressed at temps much worse than fifty below
@papa jim
Maybe, the world isn't as free as you would like to think.
As for free choices. Yep, I agree, but only what is made freely available is all you can choose from.
Free choice is hampered and tampered in the US pickup market.
So, how free is the US market? The US isn't the most liberal market globally. Even your 'chat' with Beebe shows that even the farmers are limited in choice through influencing what they grow.
@papajim - the coldest I remember is -49C (-56F) with a 6 week spell running -40C to - 49C.
Diesel powered vehicles need to be kept running since it will jel around -35C but winter diesel (basically the same as heating oil) works better.
Air brake vehicles can be a pain since entrained water can freeze up brakes. Methyl hydrate is a must.
I had a tire freeze to the ground and pull off the rim as I tried to drive away. That was good for the use of multiple 4 letter words ;)
Frozen throttles were common with carbs but not as big an issue with fuel injection.
Most will shut down operations around -40C since steel gets brittle and everything doesn't want to work well.
I'd rather have it cooler than mild with multiple freeze/thaw cycles that tear up the ground and is bad for corrosion.
We need a winter with early -40C to kill off all of the Mountain Pine Beetle eating up our trees.
March 31, 2014 - 2:58 pm ET
TORONTO -- Workers at Toyota Motor Corp.'s Canadian manufacturing plants are set to vote next week on whether to unionize.
http://www.autonews.com/article/20140331/OEM01/140339976/toyota-factory-workers-in-canada-to-vote-on-joining-unifor-union
@Big Al
Maybe it's my medication, but the response about the US markets, freedom of choice and agriculture confused me.
I'm for free trade. Very few restrictions.
Trade policy today (just as with the IRS) pretends to be one thing, and in reality it's really just politicians, appointees and judges responding to the needs of a well-connected and very privileged elite.
I don't want to go off on Dept of Agriculture policy because this is a trucks site, but it's a great example of progressive policy ideas gone wrong.
It's even worse here in Florida with the state's Ag dept. A very privileged few get all of the benefits. It's going to take a long time (and a lot of vaseline) to get the genie back into the bottle.
Artic Dodge Rams,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM0dccrWLDA
look's like a truck from halo the video game
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