Fourth quarter debut for anniversary edition Toyota Land Cruiser

Having confirmed price and spec of the new Land Cruiser 300 at the end of last month, Toyota has now announced availability from the fourth quarter of this year of the 70^th anniversary edition Land Cruiser 70-series.

Unveiled in Australia earlier this week, where production will be limited to 600 units, the anniversary edition, as evident by its name, celebrates 70 years of the Land Cruiser, known as the BJ between 1951 and 1954, and will only be offered on the venerable 76 and 79 models that mark 37 years in production this year.

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Despite Toyota South Africa declining to reveal any details relating to specification, based on those of the Australian model, the 70^th anniversary, which will bow Down Under next month, receives a new grille with block TOYOTA lettering, a black front bumper with fog lamps, darkened 16-inch alloy wheels and 70^th anniversary badging.

Along with a choice of three colours; French Vanilla, Sandy Taupe and Merlot Red, Toyota has also equipped the 70^th anniversary’s interior with a number of bespoke touches, namely faux wood inserts, silver accents, upgraded black upholstered seats and a redesigned centre console housing a single cupholder and two USB ports.

In addition, both the lever for the five-speed manual gearbox and low range transfer case are new, with the changes being rounded off by the same steering wheel as the Hilux and a 70^th anniversary edition plaque in front of the handbrake.

Using the Aussie market GXL as a base, production will be split over 320 double cabs, 200 single cabs and 80 examples of the 76 wagon with motivation being once again provided by the single turbo 4.5 D-4D V8 turbodiesel engine rated at 151kW/430Nm.

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Confirmed though is pricing, which kicks-off at $78 500 (R830 131) for the 76, and goes up to $80 050 (R851 281) for the single cab and $82 600 (R873 489) for the double cab.

From a South Africa standpoint, expect pricing from R890 000 for the 76 and from R670 000 for the 79 single cab when the 4.0-litre V6 petrol model is taken into consideration.

In double cab guise, again with the V6 petrol engine not offered Down Under, the 70^th anniversary could carry a potential sticker price of R740 000, however, as mentioned, exact specification has not yet been announced.