toyota tacoma polar truck photo

A number of years back, Top Gear famously drove a group of thoroughly modified Toyota Hilux pickup trucks to the North Pole, and in the process became the first vehicle-bound travelers to reach magnetic north. It was a testament to the vehicles’ inherent ‘Toyota toughness as well as the modifications by the Icelandic firm Arctic Trucks.

Fast forward a few years and Arctic Trucks was in the spotlight yet again, this time for converting a Toyota Tacoma into the ultimate South Pole exploration vehicle. This is that truck. It set the record for the fastest overland journey to the pole (700 miles) in just 1 day 15 hours and 54 minutes, and it’s up for auction at Russo and Steele’s Scottsdale auction in January – no reserve.

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toyota tacoma polar truck rearview photo

Built upon the sturdy base of a 2010 Tacoma Double Cab, ‘Polar’ features an extensive list of upgrades to go along with its NATO green vinyl wrap and off-roady looks. The Toyota draws power from its TRD-supercharged 4.0-liter V6, good for a beefy 380 horsepower, and feeds that grunt to all four tires … monstrous 44-inch Mickey Thompson Icepack tires. A 330-gallon, extended-range fuel tank finds itself tucked in the rear, and a hard-pulling 9-ton winch comes mounted up front. As you’ve surely guessed, the truck’s suspension has been overhauled to fit the up-sized tires and to cope with the challenging polar terrain.

Inside, the cabin features various switchgear for the truck’s suite of ARB air-lockers and compressors, a roll-cage, Garmin GPS navigation system (oddly, a turn-by-turn unit nonetheless), and OMP WRC racing seats. High mileage? Hardly, the Tacoma ‘Polar’ shows a mere 14,281 miles on the odometer, though most of them were most likely spent enduring incredible punishment.

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toyota tacoma polar truck in the wild photo

Along with the pickup comes a variety of historical documentation from the journey, including various photographs from the expedition, survival guides, and – what we presume to be quite scarce – a driver’s license for Antarctica.

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It’s a rare piece of history, and quite an expensive one at that. According to the auction, this Arctic Trucks build came with a whopping $400,000 price tag. Anybody hoping to snag a no-reserve deal when this bad boy crosses the block?

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