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The Toyota Tundra is one of the most popular pickup trucks ever made. People love them. However, it has been a while since Toyota updated them in a significant way. This next-generation Toyota Tundra is long overdue, but it’s coming in hot with two new engine options. Some Toyota fans just figured we’d have that old 5.7-liter V8 for the rest of time. 

A teaser image of the 2022 Toyota Tundra that displays new headlight designs.
2022 Toyota Tundra teaser | Toyota

At long last, we finally get new engines for the Toyota Tundra

According to CarBuzz, there is no hard date set yet for the next-gen Toyota Tundra, but sources suggest that the new Tundra could be unveiled as soon as this month. 

We are still waiting for more details. Toyota keeps a pretty tight lip on the whole thing, but we do have a few little nuggets of information to tide us over until the launch. 

The New Toyota Tundra should actually be different this time

In a conversation with MotorTrend, Toyota’s executive vice president of sales for North America, Bob Carter, confirmed the next Tundra would have two engine options. The Toyota Tundra has had the one and only engine option for over a decade. While that might seem like a bad thing, the one engine it had was the legendary 5.7-liter V8. This engine may be old and outdated, but it is as solid as they come. 

Toyota hasn’t said what the two new engines will be yet, but it did say that the 5.7-liter will not be one of them. Some Toyota people will certainly mourn the loss of this incredibly sturdy engine, but the folks at Toyota seem pretty confident that customers will enjoy the new power plants. 

Honestly, the 5.7-liter V8 getting the ax shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. It is old, inefficient, and out of touch. That being said, supposedly, the new is a “core powertrain that’s substantially more powerful in terms of horsepower and torque than the current V8,” according to Carter. 

How much power does the Toyota Tundra make? 

The outgoing V8 makes a whopping 381 hp and 401 lb-ft of torque. Toyota still hasn’t said whether the new base engine would stay a V8 or drop down to something like a twin-turbo V6. Although, with the current trend of smaller, turbocharged engines like the base engine of the Ford Bronco, The Tundra will likely go for the V6. 

Even more exciting than the new base engine is the new optional power plant. According to the Toyota Executive, the new optional Toyota Tundra engine will “blow you away.” As we mentioned, Toyota still hasn’t given any details on this new engine, but it sounds pretty exciting. The going theory is that this new Toyota Tundra engine will likely get some help from an electric motor, much like the new Ford F-150 Hybrid. There are even some rumblings of a hydrogen powertrain. 

It is time for the Tundra to retake the throne

At this point, there is still plenty of speculation surrounding these new Toyota engines. Honestly, Toyota couldn’t have picked a better time to update the Tundra. With Ford’s F-150 hybrid and F-150 Lightning, alongside the Tesla Cybertruck and Rivian R1T, the truck marketplace is getting more competitive than ever. 

People love Toyota trucks, but the lack of updates and modern powertrains has really hurt them over the years. Maybe this next-generation Toyota Tundra can turn all that around. 

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Peter Corn

Peter Corn joined MotorBiscuit as an Autos Writer in 2020 and brings his quippiest Southern drawl to our table. Having, in his words, “helped” rebuild his dad’s 1959 MGA as a small child, Peter grew up loving vintage cars and trucks, adding motorcycles and all things 4×4 as he went.

Peter earned a Bachelor of Archeology and Creative Writing from the University of Alabama and has since melded his love of driving with storytelling. His voice, full of pleasantries and witticisms, can be enjoyed in The Gentleman Racer, The Vintagent, Gear Patrol, Iron & Air Magazine, and Classic Car Club Magazine.

Peter is a co-founder of both The Colloquial Magazine and The Fire Escape, the official podcast of The Colloquial. In an effort to increase his abilities in “ramping anything with wheels,” Peter has taken track training from Classic Car Club Manhattan and attended Rally School at Monticello Motor Club, where he was coached by eight-time Performance Rally motorsport champion Chris Duplessis.

On a lucky day, we get to hear Peter tell the story of his first car, a jewel of a 1958 Ford Fairlane, into which he dumped more time and money than made sense, but he has no regrets.