One look and you just know it belongs in your all-road, go-anywhere garage. Toyota have taken their definitive Land Cruiser, the much-loved FJ60 from the 1980s, and set loose their motorsport division. Result? The world’s biggest car company calls this unique vehicle "part resto, part hot rod, and all Toyota” and it may well be the swiftest way to climb every mountain and ford every stream. Just imagine what it will do to the supermarket run. Safe to say, the Turbo Trailer Cruiser is already our dream.
Key to this unlikely in-house creation is the installation of a replacement for the FJ60’s trusty in-line six. The motorsport mechanics took one look at this elderly power plant and replaced it with one of Toyota’s latest pieces of engineering: a 3.4-litre iForce twin-turbo V6, producing a mean 389 bhp, double that of the standard model. That long dirt track to the middle of nowhere just got a lot shorter.
Toyota have created a hooligan and they know it. Or as lead project builder Marty Schwerter puts it: "It’s a hot-rod approach with Toyota DNA: power, drivability, and reliability in a package that still feels true to the original Land Cruiser.” Idea was that the FJ60 would appear factory original, so modifications retain the vehicle’s structural integrity. Mind you, there’s also a bespoke exhaust system which, Toyota proudly points out, "provides an aggressive exhaust note”.
Super-tall 35-inch tyres and a 1.5-inch lift to the suspension elevate the Turbo Trail Cruiser over anything else on the road. And there are other suspension modifications, too. But Toyota were keen to keep their show star - the Trail Cruiser was exhibited at the 2025 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, a sort of heaven on earth for fans of modified cars - looking as standard as possible. Colourway - Toyota’s Silver 147 from 1986 - is true to what was available to 1980s customers. Then there's the interior.
Turbo Trail Cruiser: A look inside
You’ll open the door to a world of the 1980s. Tough-talking seats are in put-up-with-anything grey striped cloth. All-original instrument cluster is as the FJ60 was when brand new, "giving the impression,” say Toyota that "it could have spent the past 40 years tucked away in a garage, aging gracefully yet refreshed for today”. You’ll be relieved to know that there’s some digital additions, including a high-end JBL stereo system for your off-road soundtrack.
You want this Toyota Turbo Trail Cruiser Concept, we want this Toyota Turbo Trail Cruiser Concept. But no news from Toyota that a production run of this show special will be considered, so no pricing is available. We’d suspect the Concept might well end up in the highly regarded Toyota Automobile Museum in Japan’s Nagakute City. Luckily, used FJ60s are available for your expert modification, and we’d suggest having around £40,000 to hand. We’ll meet you somewhere accessible only by Land Cruiser for sundowners.
Next up: This Seeker UK Land Cruiser is something to behold.
