Toyota Hilux Drag Races BMW 4 Series, They're Not Exactly Fast

Enter the Revo Z Edition for Thailand, a double-cab midsizer that weighs a little over 1.8 tons compared to just under 1.5 tons for the Bavarian coupe. Produced locally, the pickup uses a 2.4-liter turbo diesel I4 referred to as 2GD-FTV in Toyota vernacular. It makes 150 metric ponies, which is 148 mechanical horses, and either 343 or 400 newton meters (253 or 295 pound-feet) depending on the transmission.

Pictured on Yokohama rubber that looks and performs much better than the Apollo tires of that BMW, this pickup isn't stock. According to CSL AutoTime founder Tang, the factory turbo was changed for more power and torque, with the owner estimating in the ballpark of 250 ps (247 hp) and 500 Nm (368 lb-ft).

Pretty good for a four-cylinder turbo diesel, but alas, it does not hold a candle to the lighter 430i and its revvier 2.0-liter turbo gasser. This generation of the 4 Series Coupe featured both the N20 and the B48, with this particular model packing 252 ps (248 hp) and 350 Nm (258 lb-ft) between 1,450 and 4,800 revolutions.

By comparison, the Hilux's engine delivers maximum torque – fully stock – from 1,600 to 2,000 for the automatic or 1,400 to 2,800 for the manual. This fellow is equipped with the automatic transmission, and boy does it take a helluva lot of time to shift into second.

Third also comes excruciatingly late compared to the ZF-supplied 8HP of the BMW. This, in turn, prompts Tang to launch the Bimmer in ECO PRO mode in the second of two dig races. Even so, the lower weight and considerably broader torque band of that rear-drive 430i make a world of difference in the quarter mile.

The 430i recorded a best of 14.52 seconds at 157 kilometers per hour, which is 97.6 miles per hour in the United States and the UK. As for the made-in-Thailand pickup, the numbers are 18.97 seconds at a pedestrian 125 kilometers per hour (77.7 kilometers per hour). Other than Apollo tires and an aftermarket exhaust system, the 430i is said to be as stock as it gets.

Over in Thailand, a second-gen 430i Coupe will set you back 4,129,000 baht from the outset, as in 114,715 buckaroos at current exchange rates due to a stupidly high import duty on foreign vehicles. The locally produced Hilux Revo Z Edition, by comparison, starts at 669,000 baht or something like 18,610 dollars for the standard manual transmission.

Given the aforementioned, it should come as no surprise that Isuzu's D-Max and Toyota's Hilux are Thailand's best-selling vehicles, moving 127,290 and 114,585 units in 2023. These numbers come from the Federation of Thai Industries, which lists the Toyota Yaris ATIV as the best-selling passenger vehicle in the country (55,527 deliveries in 2023).