The Toyota Land Cruiser isn’t dead, but it’s dead in the U.S. If you want a new one, you have to buy the Lexus LX 600. For now, at least. Recently, we learned that Toyota plans to give the U.S. a new Land Cruiser based on the Lexus GX. But that only raised the question of how will Toyota differentiate our new Land Cruiser from its Lexus sibling. Will it just not be as nice inside? Possibly, but a new report suggests that Toyota plans to also give the U.S.-market Land Cruiser its own retro styling, too.
Australia’s Drive says that unnamed “Toyota sources” have said that the upcoming Land Cruiser will be more focused on off-roading and not the pricey luxury vehicle that we’ve had for the last few decades. Which makes it sound like Toyota has the Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco in its sights. And it won’t simply be a stripped-out Lexus GX, either. Apparently, it will get a design inspired by the 40-series and 70-series Land Cruisers of the past and will even get round headlights.
Without more official sources or even a quote from an anonymous source, we’re not entirely sure we believe the rumor, but we’re not going to pretend we don’t want to believe it. From the sound of it, Toyota basically plans to bring back the FJ Cruiser, this time with four full-size doors, which would be pretty awesome. The FJ Cruiser was an awesome off-roader that we’d be more than happy to see get a second generation even if it’s just called the Land Cruiser here in the States. Especially since Drive claims there will be an even more capable TRD version on top of the regular version.