Australia’s Intellectual Property Office has reportedly approved Toyota’s application for trademarking the GR Hilux moniker Down Under, thus paving the way for the marque to develop a rival to the Ford Ranger Raptor.
Despite the granting, carsguide.com.au, who first reported on the submission last month, alleges that only objection from rivals remain the sole threat to the moniker becoming reality for sure.
With speculation surrounding the GR continuing to mount following the dropping of the 2.8 GD-6 powered GR Sport in South America last year for the 4.0-litre V6 petrol engine, chances are that the GR might be offered with a petrol engine solely, although at this point, nothing has yet been set in stone.
In spite of confirming to the Aussie online publication last year that a “very small chance” of the GR Hilux becoming reality exists, Toyota, in a statement last month, remarked that, “there are definitely no plans to introduce a GR Hilux at this stage, but as always, it is something that we would definitely not rule out for the future, especially with the high level of interest locally for high performance utes”.
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