Toyota Land Cruiser 79 Turned into Bullet- and Mine-Defying Monster

While other brands boast about approach angles and fancy disconnecting sway bars, the off-road-natured Toyotas tend to keep the chatter to a minimum and just let the action do the talking. And thanks to that reliability we mentioned before, they keep talking on and on and on...

When designing a serious armored vehicle that can have a purpose even in a warzone, reliability is key. The last thing you want is to give whoever is shooting at you a stationary target, which means picking a Toyota Land Cruiser 79 as a starting point makes perfect sense.

The 79 is the designation used for the long-wheelbase pickup version of the 70 Series Land Cruiser, making it the longest and most versatile chassis of the bunch. All 70 Series Land Cruisers are body on frame, but given the way this particular custom-built model is made, using the pickup just meant there were fewer panels to remove.

Indeed, SVI, the South-African company behind the build (called MAX 3,) removes the original vehicle's entire body and replaces it with one that offers B6 ballistic protection. For those of us lucky enough not to know what that means, it translates into protection from high-powered 5.56-mm and 7.62-mm rounds. Armor-piercing bullets will go through it, though; those require B7-level protection, something SVI is happy to offer as well.

The company claims the MAX 3 will protect occupants against anti-personnel mines, but anything more potent than that - IEDs or anti-tank mines - are definitely best avoided.

The MAX 3 isn't all about defense, though. Depending on the configuration, it can offer mounting points for a 12.7-mm (.50-cal, as we call it) machine gun, while every side window also has special holes for returning fire with hand-held weapons.

SVI can build the MAX 3 in both single- or double-cab configuration, meaning it can carry up to four people inside. If the platform at the back isn't needed, an optional troop carrier module will take up to seven people.

The vehicle armoring specialist says picking the Toyota Land Cruiser brings a series of benefits, including wide spare parts availability, proven reliability, easy service (including at official Toyota dealerships, though we'd like to see their faces if you rolled in with one of these), and a lower purchase price compared to custom chassis alternatives.

Speaking of pricing, the SVI MAX 3 starts at $103,124, and as cool as having one of these might seem, imagine how hard you would have to work to sell the idea to your spouse. But here's an idea: just move to a really bad neighborhood and casually leave an SVI leaflet on the table - things will take care of themselves.