Mind made up? Nope: Toyota Land Cruiser 300 pushed back to September… again

Despite appearing on course for unveiling in April with production set to wrap-up next month and order books allegedly opening at the same time, a new report from Japan has alleged that Toyota has delayed the reveal of new Land Cruiser 300 once again.

The seventh delay after the initial reported debut at the Tokyo Motor Show two years ago, followed by one in 2019 and four this year in August, July, September and May, Best Car claims that the 300 will indeed premiere only September before going on sale outside of key non-Japanese markets towards the end of the year and in early 2022.

The report continues to claim though that the 300, set to ride on a body-on-frame version of the TNGA platform known as TNGA-F, will only offered with six-cylinder engines, in spite of it being ruled-out and then confirmed that a V8 could feature in the form of the supposedly cancelled 4.0-litre twin-turbo petrol Lexus had expected to use in its now axed next generation F models.

Confirmed to retain the low range transfer case and full-time four-wheel-drive system, the 300 will allegedly measure 4 980 mm in overall length with the wheelbase coming in at 2 900 mm, the width at 1 980 mm and the height at 1 870 mm. Ground clearance is reported to be in the vicinity of 225 mm.

Aside from the contradicting V8 reports, what is known is that the 300 will have a pair of six-cylinder engines at launch, namely the twin-turbocharged 3.5-litre badged 3.4 from the Lexus LS 500 and the new 3.3-litre turbodiesel that will replace the 4.5 D-4D V8, albeit not in the 76/79 models, and produce a reported 200kW/650Nm. Set to arrive next year, the first ever hybrid Land Cruiser will pack the same engine V6 petrol, but with electrical assistance and possibly connected to the Multi Stage Hybrid transmission Lexus used in the LS 500h. Both the standard petrol and the diesel will be solely offered with a six-speed automatic though.

Supposedly also confirmed is a GR Sport model, while previous claims of a diesel/electric model, pairing an electric motor with the 2.8 GD-6 four-cylinder from the Hilux, Fortuner and Land Cruiser Prado have not been confirmed, but could still happen given the marque’s all model electrification push by 2025. Inside, the 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system from the Harrier/Venza will take centre stage, along with a raft of new safety and driver assistance systems. Depending on the market, seating will be provided for five or eight.

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