Long-wheelbase Toyota LandCruiser imagined
If the new LandCruiser isn’t big enough for you, how about a stretched LC300 like this?As the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series continues to generate immense interest – and waiting times for new customers ordering the new 4x4 off-roader blow out well into 2022 – talk of a stretched long-wheelbase version have been bubbling away in the background.
Our sources at Toyota suggest there’s nothing in the brand’s model plans over the next few years relating to an elongated LandCruiser 300 Series, but with demand in key markets such as the Middle East and Russia for something bigger, it cannot be ruled out.
As such, Russian website Kolesa.ru has posted renders by artist Nikita Chuicko showing how a bigger, longer LandCruiser 300 Series would look.
The rear side windows are slightly longer as are the rear doors, overhangs and wheelbase, but the proposal doesn’t look ungainly and retains encouraging proportions.
It also features a full-width brake light LED strip at the rear.
It’s unlikely more grunt would be required to haul around the longer vehicle’s expected greater mass, however Toyota is plotting a return of a V8 engine which could potentially be drawn upon in lieu of the current twin-turbo V6 diesel (227kW/700Nm) and petrol (305kW/650Nm) engine options.
Currently half of the LC300 range in Australia (GXL, VX, Sahara) is packaged with seven seats, and we expect there’d be plenty of customers who would rejoice at the prospect of a roomier third row.
Most buyers would also welcome the extra cargo space that a longer wheelbase would afford.
Given the scalable TNGA-F platform that underpins the LandCruiser 300 Series retains a similar wheelbase (2850mm) and vehicle length (4980-5015mm) to the previous 200 Series LandCruiser, the door is wide open for a stretched version of the LC300.
Such a derivative would add a few thousand more dollars onto the bottom line of the LC300, which already starts from around $100,000 drive-away and tops out at more than $152,000 drive-away for the top-spec Sahara ZX.
Toyota’s official response to our request for comment on a LWB LandCruiser was non-committal: “We’re always looking at what’s available in the Toyota world to see if it makes business sense.”
However, the TNGA-F platform has already been stretched to accommodate the Toyota Tundra full-size pick-up, with long-bed versions measuring a colossal 5184mm from bumper to bumper, with a 4180mm wheelbase.
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