Toyota Hilux Tackles Iceland's Eyjafallajökull Volcano Hours Before Eruption

A team of scientists took a specially prepared Toyota Hilux pickup truck for a ride on the wild side of Iceland's fiery Eyjafallajökull volcano just hours before its eruption on Wednesday grounded thousands of flights across Europe.

And if you're wondering what they were doing there, the scientists scrambled to the volcano to set up monitoring equipment before the long-dormant mountain blew its hat off sending a vast cloud of ash 30,000 feet into the sky.

Aside from the guards, winch and additional lights, the most prominent upgrade on Toyota's Hilux were the giant low pressure 38-inch tires. Follow the jump for the complete gallery.

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