Photo: Instagram | automotive.ai
With old Land Cruiser underpinnings and quirky styling, the Toyota FJ Cruiser quickly conquered the hearts of many Americans and Canadians.
The Japanese automaker is estimated to have over 238,000 units from 2007 until 2014 in North America, and in the latter year, they pulled the plug on it in our market, though only after sending it off with a special edition.
Named the Trail Teams Ultimate Edition, the last Toyota FJ Cruiser for North America was built in 2,500 copies, featuring a Heritage Blue paint finish inspired by the original FJ40. It also came with a white grille bezel for a more retro design, and it got off-road suspension, a new front skid plate made from thick aluminum, 16-inch bead-lock wheels wrapped in chunky tires, and additional gizmos that came in handy when the trail got rough.
Despite leaving North America in 2014, it remained on sale in Japan for four more years, when the Final Edition was introduced as the swansong of the series. Production for the Land of the Rising Sun ended in early 2018, and Toyota dropped the FJ Cruiser nameplate altogether in December 2022 with an eponymous model that was marketed in the Middle East. All of them featured a V6 in different states of tune depending on when it was made, and while base versions had rear-wheel drive, the higher specs were offered with four-wheel drive.
Toyota doesn't seem interested in launching a new FJ Cruiser, but the rendering world has already gone wild on such a model, inspired by the all-new Land Cruiser that's only a few days old. Featuring round headlights, a different grille, and a new bumper, this digital FJ Cruiser is the work of automotive.ai. The rendering artist gave it a boxier appearance and a brand-new rear end, defined by the smaller taillights, off-road ready bumper, and spare wheel holder attached to the more upright tailgate. The wheel arches are sharper than the ones of the 2024 Land Cruiser, and unlike its predecessor, it has four full-size doors for better ingress and egress at the back.
A brand-new Toyota FJ Cruiser based on the latest Land Cruiser would obviously share the same powertrain, which is a 2.4-liter hybrid with a 1.87 kWh battery on the American specification, with a total of 326 hp and 465 pound-feet (630 Nm) of torque. In Europe, the truck comes with a 2.8-liter diesel, kicking out 201 horsepower. But would it really be a good idea for the car manufacturer to spend a whopping sum on the development of a new FJ Cruiser, or should they stick to the Land Cruiser recipe instead? And if they gave it the green light for production, would you buy it?
Named the Trail Teams Ultimate Edition, the last Toyota FJ Cruiser for North America was built in 2,500 copies, featuring a Heritage Blue paint finish inspired by the original FJ40. It also came with a white grille bezel for a more retro design, and it got off-road suspension, a new front skid plate made from thick aluminum, 16-inch bead-lock wheels wrapped in chunky tires, and additional gizmos that came in handy when the trail got rough.
Despite leaving North America in 2014, it remained on sale in Japan for four more years, when the Final Edition was introduced as the swansong of the series. Production for the Land of the Rising Sun ended in early 2018, and Toyota dropped the FJ Cruiser nameplate altogether in December 2022 with an eponymous model that was marketed in the Middle East. All of them featured a V6 in different states of tune depending on when it was made, and while base versions had rear-wheel drive, the higher specs were offered with four-wheel drive.
Toyota doesn't seem interested in launching a new FJ Cruiser, but the rendering world has already gone wild on such a model, inspired by the all-new Land Cruiser that's only a few days old. Featuring round headlights, a different grille, and a new bumper, this digital FJ Cruiser is the work of automotive.ai. The rendering artist gave it a boxier appearance and a brand-new rear end, defined by the smaller taillights, off-road ready bumper, and spare wheel holder attached to the more upright tailgate. The wheel arches are sharper than the ones of the 2024 Land Cruiser, and unlike its predecessor, it has four full-size doors for better ingress and egress at the back.
A brand-new Toyota FJ Cruiser based on the latest Land Cruiser would obviously share the same powertrain, which is a 2.4-liter hybrid with a 1.87 kWh battery on the American specification, with a total of 326 hp and 465 pound-feet (630 Nm) of torque. In Europe, the truck comes with a 2.8-liter diesel, kicking out 201 horsepower. But would it really be a good idea for the car manufacturer to spend a whopping sum on the development of a new FJ Cruiser, or should they stick to the Land Cruiser recipe instead? And if they gave it the green light for production, would you buy it?
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