Tuner ESB Style Shows Off ‘Tfender’ Kit For The Toyota Probox

No, dear readers, your eyes aren’t deceiving you. Indeed, what you see pictured above is a Toyota Probox that has undergone a makeover to look a lot like the new generation Land Rover Defender, even boasting a new name inspired by said British off-road icon – ‘Tfender’.

This is the work of Japanese tuners ESB Style who chose to preview this build ahead of the upcoming Tokyo Auto Salon 2023 (TAS 2023) show that’s taking place in just a few weeks’ time. Additionally, closer inspection of the images released by the tuner also reveals there’s more to this build than just a face-swap.

The base car the ‘Tfender’ underpins is a Toyota Probox, which is a rather popular station wagon and light commercial van model that’s sold only in Japan and select overseas markets. More specifically, it’s the former – Probox Wagon – variant that the tuner has chosen as the base for this build.

The new bumper mirrors closely with that found on the Defender, thus transforming this Probox’s exterior significantly. Replaced too is the Toyota emblem up front, which now sees the “TFENDER” lettering mounted on a bonnet extension instead.

Besides that, the front fascia redux continues with ESB Style’s modification of the stock Probox’s halogen headlights. These have been restyled to look like those seen in the Defender thanks to special covers, though we aren’t sure if they’ve been converted to LEDs too.

The new front fascia gets matched with other Defender-like styling tweaks like the body-coloured C-pillar, as well as a suspension lift kit that raises this Probox’s ground clearance by 30 MM to 40 MM. ESB Style also added a set of white-painted CLS TC01 alloy wheels shod in knobbly off-road tyres.

Though ESB Style mentioned the addition of a custom rear bumper and taillight covers, they have yet to release any images of this build’s rear profile at the time of writing. And whilst the single image of the build appears to be a digital render, ESB Style did publish a photo of said build’s prototype front end online.

Moreover, the tuning firm also confirmed that the ‘Tfender’ isn’t a one-off build either. They plan to produce a kit out of this, called the ‘CLS Fox’ kit, and have it on sale soon. Keen buyers can opt to purchase the kit as individual parts or as a complete set, with the latter costing ¥326,000 (approx. RM 10,785.56).

The firm also promises said kit to be compatible with all variants of the Toyota ProBox 160 series, including both the original launched in 2002 and the recently face-lifted 2014 version of which. A full reveal of this build and subsequent kit born out of which is expected during TAS 2023 in just a few weeks’ time.