Street trucks are back? Toyota Tacoma X-Runner revealed at SEMA

In a world where every midsize truck seems to be focused on off-road adventures, the Toyota Tacoma X-Runner concept is all about speed.

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Toyota Tacoma X-Runner concept

The Tacoma X-Runner is a throwback truck from the early 2000s with its lowered stance and ground effects. But this isn’t just some random aftermarket automotive build, because it’s all Toyota, and man did their engineers have some fun with this project!

It was revealed prior to the 2023 SEMA show’s opening day.

Starting from the front, the hood has a functional air scoop and a splash of red paint on the grille letters and the air scoop.

The air scoop is needed to feed more air to the engine that is actually a 3.4-liter twin turbo V-6 from the 2023 Toyota Tundra. Yup, they put a Tundra engine in a Tacoma reminiscent of when I was a teenager and my friends put Chevy V-8s into Chevy S-10 trucks.

Next, they put the new TRD Performance kit on it to “437 to 469 horsepower at 5,200 RPM and achieves peak torque 400 RPM sooner,” according to Toyota. This kit includes mechanical pieces like a bigger air intake as well as a tune.

Then, they took the Tundra’s air suspension and added it to the X-Runner. The idea here was to allow the truck to still carry payload without sagging so low, the ground effects would get torn off.

Inside the truck, it is basically a 2024 Toyota Tacoma TRD PRO interior with X-Runner stitched into the headrest.

The truck is painted in a dark blue color with red accents and the TRD PRO red interior really ties the look together.

@pickuptrucksuvtalk The Toyota Tacoma X-Runner returns as a concept at the 2023 #semashow #toyota #toyotatacoma ♬ original sound – pickuptrucksuvtalk

The bottom line

Since this is just a concept, there is no word on pricing or when it could be for sale. It could be offered if SEMA show goers and people clamor for it on social media. Basically, if you let Toyota know you want it and they just might build it.