The SVH Tundaa is a Weird Toyota Tundra Wannabe
If imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, the designers of the new Toyota Tundra should be quite flattered.
As everyone expected, the Toyota Tundra is one hot ticket right now. That means some folks who placed orders sight unseen are still waiting for their new rigs. Now obviously, this isn’t a great situation — for Toyota or its fans. But I’ve found a solution! Though when I write “found a solution,” I actually mean “found something funny on the internet which won’t work for anyone in a practical way.” Sorry about that. This site is supposed to be fun.
Now, for my incredible “solution” — the SVH Tundaa. Not only does the name look like someone fat fingered when they were typing Tundra, it also has a grille which — somewhat, kind of, vaguely — resembles the front fascia of Toyota’s latest big rig. Now, if you follow automotive news, you might suspect that this pint-sized imitation comes courtesy of a Chinese company. And guess what? You’d be right!
Of course, you’d have to be a bonehead to confuse this with an actual Tundra. But in the event that you actually got to the point of comparing spec sheets, it’d quickly become clear which truck is the genuine article. As we all know, the standard Tundra comes with a twin-turbo V6, which pumps out a respectable 389 horsepower and 479 lb-ft of torque. And while I don’t have any hard numbers, the Tundaa isn’t going to come close to those figures.
Because under the hood, it’s packing a 1.0-liter Isuzu engine with just three cylinders. Power figures for the little mill weren’t listed, but top speed was. If you bury your foot in the carpet, you’ll top out at 62 mph. So it’s pretty clear that the engineers at Isuzu aren’t extracting crazy numbers out of those tiny combustion chambers. On the other hand, it does come with a stick — and you can’t get that in a Toyota Tundra.
Unsurprisingly, the Tundaa won’t be available here in the States. And while I’m admittedly poking fun at this happy little hauler, I happen to love the wild west that’s the Chinese auto industry. Personally, I’d love to get the chance to drive some of the city cars available over there, even if I’d be taking my life in my hands trying to navigate LA roads with them…
Photos: SVH via Facebook