Toyota 4Runner TRD Surf Concept Resurrects the Classic Two-Door Removable Top SUV

Don't hold your breath on an actual production version, but it still looks cool

Come on, this Toyota 4Runner TRD Surf concept looks freaking cool.

Though it hasn’t evolved quite as rapidly as some other SUVs over the decades, the sixth-generation Toyota 4Runner is (as you’d expect) a completely different animal to what the automaker first debuted back in 1984. Back then, you could get an SUV with two doors and a removable shell behind the front seats, which is a concept that only survived through the first-generation model. For this year’s SEMA show in Las Vegas, Toyota is throwing back to its history with this old-school Surf concept based on the original 4Runner.

To create this build, Toyota took a brand-new 2025 4Runner Limited and shortened everything up, which removing the rear two doors and fitting the classic removable canopy. The “Surf” name refers to the 1980s-era Hilux Surf, which was what Toyota called the first-gen model in Japan. Export markets, on the other hand, knew this SUV as the 4Runner (and we’ve known it as such ever since, though some markets got the ‘Land Cruiser Prado’ instead).

The Toyota 4Runner TRD Surf concept is two inches wider than your standard SUV, and rides on 37-inch BFGoodrich KO3 all-terrain tires. Those tires come wrapped around custom 17-inch TRD wheels, while you also get a custom exhaust for what Toyota says is a “satisfying” exhaust not.

On the powertrain front, the Surf gets the same 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder as the Limited. To that end, you get custom, lower-case “turbo” graphics on the doors, while the engine itself puts out 278 horsepower and 317 lb-ft of torque through an 8-speed automatic transmission. Power makes its way to the ground through a full-time four-wheel drive system and a two-speed transfer case. So, that’s all the same as before, but Toyota added long-travel suspension with billet aluminum upper and lower A-arms. The 4Runner TRD Surf also has upgraded steering, customfront axles and a Tundra rear-end housing.

Toyota says it did a practice run on a fifth-generation 4Runner before building a removable top in-house for the new build. Engineers mixed traditional fabrication with 3D printing to ensure a perfect fit, and the company says a single person can remove and reinstall the top.

The changes aren’t all to the exterior, either

Inside, the 4Runner TRD Surf gets special seats and a weatherproofed interior. Since this concept is now a two-door, Toyota engineers did incorporate a mechanism to flip the front passenger seat forward to get in the back. Since we are talking about the “Surf” here, the SEMA build includes a roof rack with custom mounts for a couple surfboards, while a light bar up top and a roof bar help round out the look.

Like the exterior, Toyota fitted a range of dark-to-light blue accents throughout the TRD Surf’s interior.

Overall, it’s a pretty awesome looking concept — though I will add the disclaimer that I am a massive 4Runner geek. While the 2025 Toyota 4Runner TRD Surf concept will make its public debut at SEMA next week, it’s unlikely the automaker will actually put this idea into production…so don’t hold your breath on that one.