The Toyota 4Runner is all-new for 2025, but one of them on display at the 2024 SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) Show in Las Vegas has been transformed into a 1980s throwback known as the 4Runner TRD Surf Concept.
Marty McFly’s black pickup in “Back to the Future” wasn’t the only popular Toyota in the ’80s. According to the automaker, back then, the 4Runner was a common sight at Southern California beaches. And Marty Schwerter, lead builder and Director of Operations at Toyota’s Motorsports Technical Center, saw that original model in the upcoming 4Runner. “The 2025 4Runner reminded me of the original, with its rugged look and powerhouse 4cyl engine. I knew it had the potential to be the ultimate beach cruiser. We wanted to create something that would resonate today while paying homage to the past.”
Schwerter and his team went way beyond just colors and graphics. To truly make the 4Runner TRD Surf Concept connect to its ancestors, they widened a 2025 4Runner TRD Limited by four inches, turned it into a two-door, and cut off the roof and turned it into a removable hardtop that can be taken off by one person.
Although it has half the amount of its original doors, the 4Runner TRD Surf Concept still has its rear seats. Providing access to those required altering the front passenger-side bucket so that it flips forward. That and the rest of the seats along with the flooring are waterproof (if only they could be sandproof too).
There’s cargo space under the roll bar, but hauling surfboards requires letting some of their length hang out over the back of the rig or putting one in the custom-made “Travel Quiver” that goes on top of the roof rack.
Everything else under the 4Runner TRD Surf Concept’s unique bodywork also got modified. The custom long-travel suspension has billet aluminum front upper and lower A-arms, custom front axles, and the rear-end housing from a Tundra. The 278-horsepower/317-lb-ft iForce 2.4-liter turbocharged I4 breathes through a custom exhaust system.
Of course, the wheels and tires got upgraded too; the stock parts were replaced with a set of 17x.8.5-inch custom wheels and 37-inch BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/As.
You can see the 4Runner TRD Surf Concept up close at the 2024 SEMA Show November 5-8 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
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