Before the grand reveal of the J300 series, Land Cruiser loyalists were afraid of the TNGA-F vehicle platform’s built-in constraints. More to the point, Toyota designed the body-on-frame architecture with four- and six-cylinder engines in mind. Granted, the anxiety was laid to rest after the full-size SUV rolled out with a twin-turbo V6 instead of a V8 mill.
Pretty much the same thing happened to the Tundra, the full-size pickup that never posed a threat to the Big Three in Detroit. For the 2022 model year, the half-ton workhorse switches from a free-breathing V8 for a force-fed V6 augmented by a couple of turbos and some kind of hybrid assistance.
The state-of-the-art platform that underpins both nameplates will carry over to the all-new LX, which is expected to launch by the end of the year as a 2022 model. According to the Japanese automotive blog Creative Trend, the luxurious brother of the J300 series will be available to pre-order this fall.
Allegedly, 600 is the moniker of the base powertrain, and it’s believed to mirror the specifications of the Land Cruiser at 409 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque (416 PS and 650 Nm) from 3.5 liters of displacement (actually 3,444 cubic centimeters). Higher up the spectrum, the 750h is believed to marry the six-cylinder engine with a hybrid system that should translate to 480 ponies and 642 pound-feet of torque (487 PS and 870 Nm).
Teased by Lexus on YouTube during the online reveal of the all-new NX crossover, the LX 600 and LX 750h are pretty much finished from the standpoint of interior and exterior design. One could also argue that Lexus is close to putting the finishing touches on the powertrain options because of the Tundra pickup, which has been teased with a blue outline for the badge on the engine cover and high-voltage orange wiring in the engine bay.
Although Toyota has pulled the plug on the Land Cruiser in the United States, the posher brother is certain to arrive at U.S. retailers sometime in early 2022.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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