Toyota reveals 'Turbo Trail Cruiser' ahead of SEMA

Everyone else, take note - this is how you modernise an iconic off-roader

Toyota can always be relied on for something good at SEMA, which kicks off its 2025 edition next week. This is the company that brought the 700hp, 2JZ-powered Lexus IS to Las Vegas, remember. Previous exhibits have also included a 4Runner-based collaboration with Tonka, a 2,000hp Land Cruiser, a Supra Targa and last year’s stunning WRC homage GR86. So there was always going to be more coming for 2025 than just last week’s Camry.

Say hello to the Turbo Trail Cruiser, which sounds like it should be an overpriced pram but is in fact an FJ60 Land Cruiser with twice the power of the original. Right up our avenue, basically: ‘The unique project is an exercise in seamlessly retrofitting contemporary Toyota engineering into a heritage platform – part resto, part hot rod, and all Toyota – showing how today’s performance technology can transform one of the brand’s most iconic classics.’ Just when it seems like Toyota can’t do anything more right, it goes and makes a Turbo Trail Cruiser that looks as good as this.

Power comes from a twin-turbo 3.4 V6, the i-Force unit typically found in the Stateside Sequoia and Tundra. Toyota reckons it’s good for 389hp and 479lb ft; some gain from the 135hp and 210lb ft of the original 4.2-litre straight six. Not that you’d be able to tell it was some kind of hot rod project; Toyota says the intention was to ‘appear factory original’ (see the pic; it really does), so the firewall wasn’t cut, mounting points weren’t moved, and an adapter plate was made so the new V6 could link up to the bell housing of the original trans. The wiring harness is custom, as is the exhaust and heat exchanger. It’s the usual Toyota methodical approach, applied to a one-off show concept, as per its usual SEMA tradition.

The Turbo Tail Cruiser sits a little awkwardly on a 1.5-inch lift kit and giant 35-inch tyres, though they should at least mean the burly new powertrain is at its best away from the road. Toyota being Toyota again, the TTC has been fully resprayed in a rework of the original Silver 147 colour from 1986. There’s a new JBL stereo in a delightfully retro interior as well, for the full restomod vibe, though the screen is rather less seamlessly integrated than the new engine. You wouldn’t be surprised if somebody made Toyota an offer for it on the stand.

Why do this? Well, a 400hp classic Land Cruiser will do Toyota’s wider reputation no harm at all, of course, but this is also said to be part of the plan to offer up the right powertrain for the right car in a lower carbon future. Electric AE86s on one hand, twin-turbo V6 SUVs on the other - all part of the ‘multi-pathway strategy’. Something everyone is attempting, just Toyota is doing with rather more swag than everyone else.

“For Toyota fans, the Turbo Trail Cruiser is about more than just horsepower,” said Mike Tripp, group vice president, Toyota Marketing. “It’s about preserving the character of a vehicle enthusiasts love while showing how seamlessly Toyota technology can elevate the driving experience. It’s a concept build, but it demonstrates the passion we share with our customers for keeping these classics alive in new and exciting ways.” Amen to that. You only need look at the demand for the retro-themed current Cruiser to see that heritage definitely still sells; Toyota has put enough into this that a classic conversion and upgrade service really doesn’t seem out of the question. If it can dabble in supercars once more, what’s to stop Toyota fully embracing restomods?

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Motormouth88

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