The deal that delivered the Toyota Tundra pick-up to Australian showrooms – and V8 GR Supras to Supercars circuits – could expand to a Walkinshaw-tuned HiLux or GR performance car.
Toyota's landmark V8 Supercars debut with Walkinshaw could pave the way for tuned production cars fettled by the engineers formerly behind Holden Special Vehicles (HSV).
The Japanese car giant has partnered with Walkinshaw to develop a V8-powered GR Supra for Supercars racing, as well as to convert Tundra pick-ups from left- to right-hand drive in Melbourne for sale across the country.
An expansion of the partnership to appeal to Walkinshaw's history as a maker of high-performance road cars – as the firm behind HSV a decade ago – is under consideration.
"We're obviously always talking with all of our manufacturing partners about other opportunities; we'd be silly not to," Walkinshaw Group CEO Ryan Walkinshaw told Australian media at the Supercars debut of the GR Supra.
"We propose different ideas, they propose different ideas to us. We're always exploring those kinds of things, but at the moment, our focus is ensuring that our Tundra program is a huge success here in Australia.
"After that, if there are other exciting products that may or may not exist in the future as a partnership with our two brands, then we'll let you guys know.
"But for now, it's focusing on making sure that these things [GR Supra V8s] win races, and making sure this man [Toyota sales and marketing boss John Pappas] sells lots of Tundras."
Pappas added: "I'm the same. We've already had a good relationship and partnership with Walkinshaw, and now expanding into Supercars with this GR Supra.
"So yeah, we continue to build, and our focus right now is exactly on those two things. It's about selling more Tundras and getting that brand expanded as well, as a model line, and trying to learn through the GR V8 Supra.
"That's the focus for now, but you know, as we grow, we could look at other things."
Walkinshaw has worked with Volkswagen since 2021 on a line of tuned Amarok utes wearing the engineering firm's name, offering upgraded suspension, wheels, and styling for on- and off-road use.
It has also partnered with Isuzu to create the D-Max Blade off-road flagship, and a limited run of Mitsubishi Triton Xtreme off-road utes, sold through select Mitsubishi dealers in the final months of the previous generation's life.
In its previous capacity as Holden Special Vehicles, it worked on models from the Colorado SportsCat ute – one of the first Australian-tuned 'sports' diesel dual-cab utes – to 30 years of Holden Commodore V8 muscle sedans.
Alongside its work on the Tundra, Walkinshaw also converts Ram and Chevrolet pick-ups to right-hand drive at its facility in the south-east Melbourne suburb of Dandenong.
The natural candidates for Toyota and Walkinshaw are upgraded versions of the HiLux and Tundra, the former as an area of expertise for the engineering firm, and the latter making use of an existing production line.
However, the previous-generation HiLux range was topped by an in-house GR Sport off-road variant, something tipped to return in the new generation with its predecessor's costly-to-develop wide-track footprint.
Toyota has previously floated the possibility of Supercars-themed special-edition road cars to complement its racing program, which may be developed in-house, rather than with a partner.
"There may be opportunities around the GR brand to do other things related to Supercars," Pappas' predecessor Sean Hanley told Drive in March 2025.
"It won't necessarily always be just Supra though. We'll be looking more holistically at the brand proposition.
"In other words, we may do some track special editions, but it may not always just be Supra, it may be wrapped around the GR brand."
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
