Revo build: Radical Revo

Onca Off-Road are well-known in the industry as builders of extreme Jeeps, and as the go-to place for heavy-duty conversions to every kind of Land Cruiser you can think of. Now, they’ve finally completed their R&D work on armour for the Hilux Revo…

Back in 1991, brothers Lee and Len Nel found themselves in a situation fairly common to 4×4 enthusiasts. Standard vehicles weren’t suited to extreme off-road and overlanding, yet, back then, the market for accessories was still relatively small. The brothers started manufacturing their own parts using skills learned in the mining and fabrication industry to get them ahead of the game. It didn’t take long before competitors stood up and took note, and Onca 4X4 was born in 2003. Today, Onca not only manufacture their own premium products in South Africa, but import some of the best componentry that the USA has on offer.

Though Onca have several show cars, the Hilux has always been a bread-and-butter product in the 4×4 industry, so there was plenty of incentive to build an impressive show vehicle from the latest Hilux 2.8 GD-6 Revo. Here we’ve short-listed the accessories fitted to the vehicle, racking up a total build cost of R150 000 or so; but that, of course, includes the super-trick Icon suspension components and billet aluminium winching/ recovery accessories − which are US imports. You could also mention the fender flares, great for protecting these vulnerable areas from trail rash, and a few high-end touches like the Rigid Industries work lights built into the Adventure frame. One could build a similar looker for a lot less, but would you want to?

With this build, the large Mickey Thompson mud-terrains on bead lock rims weren’t going to fit into the standard arches, hence a decent lift was required. This is nothing in the USA, home of radical 4×4 builds, so the boltin Icon steering componentry, springs and shocks meant that there was the minimum of tweaking to get steering and roadholding perfectly set.

What is worth knowing about Onca’s locally developed products is that they are not rushed to market. The Hilux Revo, the bullbar, rear bumper and rock sliders have all undergone a long phase of development, prototyping and testing. Now, finally, Onca 4×4 have market-ready armour which performs as it should and meets exacting quality and safety standards.

For the sake of safety, all Onca bull bars are built under strict Australian Design Rules (ADR). This means that their products meet the Australian government’s national safety standards, including crash safety. Built into each bull bar are special airbag crumple zone brackets which allow the mounts to flex and absorb impact energy, thus aiding airbag deployment and occupant safety.

The bull bar also caters for cooling needs, with large vents that are tapered at the back to push air directly into the radiator and front mount intercooler. Despite the added air flow, strength has not been compromised: two 10 000lbs recovery points remain, as well as two jacking points.

The rear bumpers are equally strong, and also include two jacking points and two 10 000lb recovery points – here being made extra ‘cool’ with Factor 55 Recovery pro-link shackles.

For the rock sliders, large 76mmx3mm steel tubing was used in an effort to reduce resistance between the sliders and the ground. As is proper, there are no protruding parts, and there are three substantial chassis mounting brackets on each side.

The process of building an Onca-manufactured product starts on the computer with the latest CAD software to ensure an accurate fit to the dimensions of the specified 4×4. From there, the steel is machined and lasercut to shape before the welding and grinding. All steel products are sandblasted, before being powder-coated with highly resilient ‘Ferrotex’ – a rough black coating designed to fend off scratches and corrosion.

Overall, the design and build quality speak for themselves. From the pristine factory, to the finished item, you know you’re getting a quality product that not only looks the part, but is designed to be abused for years to come.