After countless leaks involving the whole nine yards, such as spy shots, undisguised prototypes spotted from all angles, as well as preliminary information regarding the architecture, trim levels, and even the powertrains, the Japanese automaker is almost ready to unveil the J300 Land Cruiser. Not long now, according to the Middle East division of Toyota.
One of the worst-kept secrets of the automotive world of 2021 is Toyota’s new J300 iteration of the iconic Land Cruiser series. It has been photographed and filmed from virtually every angle, while social media tipsters have also leaked a steady stream of crucial information.
That’s how everybody found out the new generation—likely arriving in the Middle East before any other region—will switch to the company’s TNGA-F platform, introduce an all-new GR Sport version (we even have the dimensions for this one), and unfortunately lose the traditional V8 mill as it downsizes to a couple of V6s.
One would be the turbo 3.5-liter V6 gasoline option sporting 409 horsepower and 479 lb-ft (649 Nm), while the smaller 3.3-liter diesel will churn out 302 horsepower and a higher 516 lb-ft (700 Nm) of twist. They’re both hooked to a new 10-speed automatic, but Toyota also promises it will remain “4WD with no compromise to off-road performance,” according to a leaked document.
Quite oblivious to the massive leaks, Toyota Middle East has finally started the pre-introduction marketing campaign with a very short six-second video that doesn’t feature much of the Land Cruiser J300 (save for the badge and grille). Instead, its title (featuring the words “Teaser 1”) promises more is coming and advances June 9th as the reveal date.
Toyota’s next-generation flagship SUV may or may not reach the United States after all (In Europe we're dealing with a different version, the Land Cruiser Prado/J150), but we can consider the LC300 as a good preview of the things to come for the next generation Tundra pickup, considering the two models usually share much of the same underpinnings.
Update: The good folks over at landcruiserupdates have quickly uncovered information regarding the eagerly awaited moment of arrival in dealerships. It seems that, at least for the Kuwait market, the date has been set for June 20th.
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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