On The Inside

Building a cutting-edge 4x4 is all about who you know.

- Dan Everett

If I have seen further, it’s only by standing on the shoulders of giants.” It’s a concept that’s been thrown around for centuries now, and it raises the idea that no man or woman alone is responsible for everything they’ve achieved. Instead, they’re given a head start by the people who built the foundations. Neil Armstrong wouldn’t have put a foot on the moon without the Wright brothers first taking flight; Land Cruisers wouldn’t exist without the original Jeeps, and just about every popular modification on your 4x4 wouldn’t exist without the people willing to experiment and lay the groundwork.

Max, the bloke who owns the one-of-a kind N80 Hilux you’re ogling, now falls smack-bang in the middle of the pile of giants. Over the last 15 odd years he’s earned himself a reputation of being the first to roll up his sleeves and figure things out, helping create the methods that people replicate on their own 4x4s for years later. As a result, when the time came to step up from his wild N70 Hilux into the new N80 platform, Max, and a bunch of industry contacts he’s made over the years, were all too ready to get to work.

Like most 4x4s, Max’s Hilux rides on a solid foundation that ties the whole build together. “I’ve always been an advocate for keeping IFS vehicles low,” Max tells us. “Improvement in approach and departure angles will give you more benefit than lift, in order to run larger tyres.”