First Test: 2008 Toyota Tundra TRD Supercharged
Truck guys take a lot of guff for driving gas-guzzlers that rarely get used for what they're designed to do. Well, bite your tongue car weenies 'cause this Toyota pickup does exactly what it's built for -- speed. Sure, there's been other regular-cab sport trucks like Ford's SVT Lightning and Dodge's SRT-10 Ram, but this Tundra stomps 'em both, handily, in the 0-to-60 test by almost a half second. The Tundra dashes to 60 in 4.4 seconds making it faster than your car, if you're driving a Mustang GT (5.1), Dodge Challenger SRT8 (4.6), Jaguar XF SC (4.90), Audi S5 coupe (4.5), or BMW 135i (4.6), and as fast as our long-term 2006 Porsche Carrera S.
What's going on? Where's this truck been? Essentially in pieces in the Toyota Racing Development parts bins. What we have here is a stock 5.7L Tundra regular cab SR5 pickup fitted with accessories from the TRD catalog. Only a couple of bolt-on parts transform an already hefty Toyota 5.7L V-8 engine into a screaming banshee. The rev willingness of the stock 5.7 adds greatly to the package. The Eaton Twin Vortices supercharger and cat-back dual exhaust are the heart of the upgrades allowing the air and power to flow freely at the rate of 504 hp and 550 lb-ft of torque. Yee-hoooo! The whir of the supercharger is reminiscent of the old Lightning's, but the kick feels more linear and consistent. Power is on tap almost immediately without a slam-bang delivery. For the sake of civility, the tip-in is controllable, if you exercise restraint. But after a couple of head-snapping launches, it's nearly impossible to avoid exorcizing the tire tread instead. On the freeway, passing involves little more than a brush of the accelerator for pinpoint lane changes usually reserved for sports cars. Street truck aerodynamics aren't condusive to high-speeds with 0-to-100 mph times comparable to those of the Porsche Caymen and old S/C Yenko Camaro.
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