Amidst ongoing rumours of the all-new Toyota Land Cruiser 300, a new report from Japan has allegedly revealed that the iconic off-roader will be offered with a turbodiesel engine, but not the speculated V6 or indeed the current 200’s V8.
Confirmed for arrival next year and not in July this year as previously stated, Best Car claims that the 300 will be equipped with the 2.8 GD-6 engine from the Hilux, Fortuner and Prado, paired to the six-speed automatic gearbox, with both power and torque outputs still to be announced.
Likely to produce more than its sibling’s 140kW/450Nm, the rumoured inclusion of the four-cylinder, a configuration last offered in the 60-series more than forty years ago, also contradicts reports from Australia that the 300 will feature a hybrid oil-burning powertrain in spite of Toyota’s push to have all of its models electrified by 2025.
As is already known, the diesel will serve as alternative to the 3.5-litre badged 3.4-litre V6 petrol engines taken from the Lexus LS 500, one incorporating twin-turbocharging and the other electrification. For the first time since the 80-series went out of production in 1997, and after sales Down Under last year due to poorer than expected demand, a V8 petrol will not be offered.
Set to provide seating for five or eight, the 300 will ride on a unique body-on-frame version of the TNGA platform and measure 4 950 mm in overall length with a wheelbase of 2 850 mm, height of 1 870 mm and width of 1 980 mm. According to Best Car, the claimed ground clearance will stand at 225 mm and as has already been mentioned, the low range transfer case will continue to be offered.
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