Toyota Land Cruiser turns 70: Prestigious to the power of eight

With recent reports alluding to a supposed two year waiting list, any apparent fears Toyota might have had about eschewing V8 power in the Land Cruiser 300 for six-cylinders appears to have been negated.

As evident by international and local sales figures, the loss of the V8 has done little to diminish the appeal of the first Land Cruiser since the 80-series not to offer an eight-pot option.

With both the V6 petrol and diesel 300 now officially on sale, The Citizen, in the final of our three part 70 year tribute to the Land Cruiser, looks back to the V8’s origins in the 100-series, followed by its swansong in the 200-series.

100-series

Debuting at the start of 1998, January to be exact, the Land Cruiser 100 represented an even bigger and more radical departure than the 80-series did over the 60-series.

Arriving in the midst of the SUV-boom, the 100 payed greater attention to luxury than ever before, in addition to being the most sophisticated Land Cruiser ever made.

Aside from new tech such as traction control, satellite navigation and even a night vision camera, it featured an adapted version of the 80’s full-time four-wheel-drive system and coil spring suspension, though in certain markets, an independent setup backed-up by a rack-and-pinion steering system starred.

Also new, the former suspension saw the inclusion of an optional adaptive ride system known as Active Height Control, in addition to a model first four wheel ventilated disc brake setup on higher-end derivatives.  

The widest Land Cruiser ever made, the biggest highlight of the 100 was of course the introduction of a V8 engine in response to demand from key markets such as the Middle East and North America.

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Whereas diesel power continued to come from the normally aspirated 4.2-litre 1HZ and 4.5-litre 1HD six-cylinder units used in the 80-series, the latter upgraded with an intercooler from 125 kW to 150 kW in late 2000, the 100, again in certain market, came standard with a newly designed 4.7-litre petrol V8.

Supplementing the in-line six 4.5-litre 1FZ that had been carried over from the 80 as well, the 32-valve V8 produced 173kW/422Nm, backed-up by another Land Cruiser first, a five-speed automatic gearbox that would eventually replace the four-speed unit entirely in 2002.

As with the 80, the 100 spawned an even more posh Lexus LX variant, which carried the Cygnus suffix in Japan in light of the Lexus brand not being offered there at the time.

Offered with barn-style doors or a conventional tailgate throughout its lifecycle, the 100 lasted a year longer than the 80 with production coming to an end in 2007.

200-series

Touching down mere months after the end of 100 production, the Land Cruiser 200 effectively rated as a heavily updated version of its predecessor externally, mounted on a new frame shared with the Tundra.

While still fitted with full-time four-wheel-drive and low range, now button operated, the 200 reverted back to coil springs as standard, though it became the first Land Cruiser to offer air suspension, adaptive dampers and a series of modes, including a world first Crawl setting, for the all-paw gripping system known as Multi-Terrain Select.

More luxurious than ever before with furnishings such as Heads-Up Display, keyless entry and start, the Kinetic Dynamic Suspension and quad-zone climate control, it also saw the debut of a radical new V8 engine and the final hurrah for the already dwindling-in-demand manual gearbox.

Replacing the dated 1FZ engine, the all-new 4.5-litre VD oil-burner utilised a twin-turbo configuration with initial outputs of 173kW/615Nm.

Transplanted into the 70-series in 2013, albeit with a single blower, an eventual revision three years later upped the output to 200kW/650Nm, the former figure detuned by five kilowatts for South Africa.

Along with the diesel, the 200 also marked the end of the equally long serving straight-six petrols. Although six-cylinder motivation remained, it now came from the same V-angle 4.0-litre used in the Hilux, Fortuner and Land Cruiser Prado rated at 176 kW.

The petrol V8 meanwhile now came in three flavours; the carryover 4.7 and a smaller but more powerful 4.6 that replaced the former entirely in 2012.

At the range’s sharp-end, and only in the States and the Middle East, the Land Cruiser 200, and its Lexus LX offshoot, produced 284kW/544Nm courtesy of a 5.7-litre bent-eight borrowed from the Tundra.

Until 2014, this unit had been mated to a six-speed automatic gearbox, which became an eight-speed from 2015. Since debut, the mentioned six-speed, a Land Cruiser first, had been reserved for the diesel and the 4.6 with the 4.7 being solely offered with the five-speed self-shifter.

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Having been in freefall since the 80’s reveal, the Land Cruiser 200 would be the final encore for the five-speed manual ‘box, which has been the sole option for the petrol V6 in certain markets.

Together with this, the introduction of the Land Cruiser 300 brings to an end fourteen years of the 200, one of the longest in Land Cruiser history, and 23 years of the V8 as the flagship powerunit.

With no plans for a bent-eight revival anytime soon despite numerous rumours and alleged confirmed reports, don’t be surprised if sales increase over the next few years as seen in the run-up to the end of the V8’s departure earlier this year.