Toyota trucks set record crossing South Pole

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There’s a new Guinness world record for the fastest overland journey to the South Pole. Two modified Toyota Hilux trucks made the trip in December 2010, travelling 1,434 miles across the Antarctic High Plateau in 108 hours.

The drivers faced extreme conditions, averaging just over 13 miles per hour while reaching altitudes of over 10,000 feet above sea level. The team and included four members: Konstantin Orlov and Stanislav Makarenko from KNGS, Andrey Myller from TAC, and Hlynur Sigurdsson from Arctic Trucks – the off-road tuning company that built the vehicles. The expedition was organized by the Kazakhstan National Geographic Society and The Antarctica Company.

Arctic Trucks used 3-liter, 170-horsepower turbodiesel Hiluxes for the expedition build. The trucks were equipped to carry an amazing 285 gallons of fuel, 74 in tanks with the balance stored in the bed. The Arctic Trucks Expedition AT44 gets its name from 44×18.5 tires fitted to 15-inch rims and run at tire pressures as low as 2 psi. The 4×4 ice-crawlers have five-speed automatic transmissions with part-time transfer cases and a 2.566:1 low gear. Besides carrying up to 1.3 tons, the trucks are equipped to tow an additional 1.5 tons on a trailer. The heavyweight AT44 checks in at 4,960 pounds and sports a fuel ‘efficiency’ of 5 mpg in the Antarctic snow.