- Dope Or Nope?

The word Fortuner is enough to create an air of respect and robustness around it. The way it gets this done in an effortless way is even more commendable. A new Fortuner is underway, with a ton of new features, technology and design. It is expected to take the prices even higher and offer sophistication along with it.

Keeping future products aside, if we look towards Fortuner's roots, it is the Type 1. For Toyota India's successful journey, Type 1 Fortuner was a very important stepping stone. This is ground zero for the name Fortuner in India. It laid a solid foundation on which the Fortuner's of today are standing tall.

If you own one of these legendary vehicles, they're highly unlikely to pose major mechanical issues. Despite its simplistic charm, it looks quite dated now. Even though it has aged quite well, this old design language might not be to everyone's taste. If you are the demographic that I just mentioned, this Lexus body kit might do the job of refreshing its looks.

Fortuner always came with a ladder-frame chassis and that is the case even today. And likely to be that way for years to come even though Innova brand has adopted monocoque chassis with its new Hycross. The owner of this Type 1 Fortuner wanted to refresh the looks in its entirety. Hence there have been multiple other changes apart from just Lexus body kit. The modification has been done by Autorounders.

For starters, the grey shade that it left the factory with, had to be a darker shade with spruced up exterior. In that regard, modifications involved an extensive surface treatment including dent removal, body prepping, primer and then a darker shade, close to black was chosen by the owner. Porsche has a similar colour shade offered with some of its sports cars.

After paint, paint protection and buffing, it was time to accessorize the exteriors. Headlights were replaced with aftermarket ones that involve LED elements that add a new look. Taillights are changed too that now get LED elements in them which look vastly superior to the stock ones. The smoked finish on headlights and taillights gives it a sporty look.

Rear also gets illuminated Fortuner badging and more. The massive design overhaul comes in the form of a Lexus body kit. This involves a Lexus Spindle-design front grille finished in chrome. It offers a massive gaping mouth to form an aggressive front fascia. Something that couldn't be said about a stock Type 1 Fortuner.

Powertrain

Mechanically, it is highly likely that the owner kept it in stock condition. How could he not? For Toyota Fortuner's massive appeal is due to its reliability and dependability. At launch in 2009, Type 1 Fortuner only came with a 3.0L 4-cylinder engine that made 171 bhp and 343 Nm of torque. It was only offered with a 5-speed manual along with a full-time 4WD system.

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