It is not without reason that Toyota has again seen another solid month of sales, with the Japanese automaker’s US sales escalating by 17 per cent in September, with its light trucks recording a heavy 42.3 per cent increase in sales over the last year. Toyota trucks comprised of slightly more than 37 per cent of its last month’s figures. And it is no secret that fans flock to the annual SEMA Show in Las Vegas to check out what custom versions the automaker has dressed up their trucks this time round.

Toyota has revealed its plans for the SEMA Show this year, and it seems the one to take away the cake would be the Toyota Tacoma X-Runner RTR which will borrow the 5.7-L V8 from the relatively-huge Toyota Tundra pickup.

The stock 2011 Toyota Tacoma X-Runner used a 4.0-L V6 pushing out 236 hp, equipped with a six-speed manual transmission. And that takes it from naught to 100 km/h in a bit less than 7 seconds. Comparatively, the RTR or “Ready-to-Race” version’s eight-cylinder 5.7-L V8 is capable of delivering up to 381 hp, so we can be assured of a pretty good acceleration figure.

Further details and photos are still on hold, and word is out that the new version will also borrow in a few performance parts from the Toyota Racing Development. We might see the real picture when professional drag racer Antron Brown, who has been hired by Toyota to check how well the vehicle holds its own on a straight stretch, gets behind the wheel.

via pickuptrucks