Welcome to living, bellowing proof that anything can be improved by the addition of a big V8. This is a Toyota Hilux, it has been fitted with a big V8, and it is most excellent.

Specifically, a big V8 pinched from its little Lexus brother, the IS-F performance saloon. Which means 5.0 litres and more than 400bhp of naturally aspirated goodness. Why, you ask? Why the hell not, we say.

It’s been built to celebrate one million Hilux models sold in South Africa, as well as commemorating the mighty off-roader’s success in motorsport (Toyota has won seven consecutive South African Cross-Country Championships, we’re told). Such excellence deserves a V8.

So Toyota SA Motorsport kitted a Hilux with the Lexus IS-F’s monster powerplant, the same V8 that powers the Hilux Racing Experience vehicle. With 450bhp and 442lb ft of torque, Toyota SA reckons this is “likely the most powerful Hilux ever built”.

There’s a new ECU from Pectel Cosworth, a modified sump, new gear ratios for the front and rear diffs, a Dakar-spec inlet manifold and wiring harness, a new alternator, power steering pump and air con compressor, too. The racing Hilux also gets a full tubular exhaust and mods to mate the V8 to the standard D-4D gearbox.

Not only that, but Toyota has fitted fully adjustable front and rear dampers, beefier 350mm brakes, a twin-plate AP racing clutch, a 50mm lower ride height, a quicker steering ratio and bigger wheels. Because where there is V8 fastness, there needs to be stability.

“The modifications are pretty comprehensive,” notes Toyota SA Motorsport’s Glyn Hall. We’ll say.

So, the big question: this, or Hennessey’s deranged Velociraptor?