Millen reaches for the Sky

Strike me pink, what would Barry Crump have said about this Toyota Hilux?

It's tough enough and it goes like stink, but no self-respecting cattle dog would go within a bull's roar of the thing. There's only one seat, too. Crumpy wouldn't have had room for his sidekick Scotty.

The Hilux mightn't have suited Crump - with Lloyd Scott the face of Toyota Hilux commercials in New Zealand for many years - but expatriate New Zealander Rod Millen is having fun with it.

California-based Millen built the Hilux for the 15km Race to the Sky in Queenstown, but lost to rally star Possum Bourne driving a Subaru Impreza WRX.

Millen was also pipped at the post last year. He is disappointed, but plans a third-time-lucky return next year.

Meantime, the special Hilux and its 450Kw 5-litre engine is doing the rounds of South Island Toyota dealerships before it heads back to America.