Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series V8 may be axed in 2025

The four-cylinder (and automatic) 2024 Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series was released last week to help future-proof the endearing 39-year-old workhorse when its beloved V8 engine is killed off, and now it seems that will happen much sooner than expected.

According to Cars.com.za, the venerable 1VD-FTV 4.5-litre turbo-diesel V8 could be dead within the next two years, with the South African website citing sources within Toyota as confirming the burbling bent-eight will be pulled from the 76 Series wagon in August 2024 and then from the 79 Series pick-ups 12 months after that.

The revelation follows comments made by local Toyota executives earlier this month regarding the close monitoring of the sales split between the new four-cylinder and established V8, since the former all but matches the latter for power, smashes it for torque and betters it for efficiency too.

“We don’t have an exact end date for V8 sitting here at all. There is no timeline, but we do need to examine where that car would fit into the future,” Toyota Australia vice-president of sales, marketing and franchise operations Sean Hanley told carsales at the facelifted 70 Series launch.

“If, like hybrid, we went to an 85 per cent mix of hybrid versus petrol, we’d go ‘why do we have a petrol anymore, let’s just go hybrid’. That’s what we did with C-HR and Camry.

“The same could happen with this car: if we had a really high mix of four-cylinder, well then you’d sit there and go ‘why would you bring that [V8] car in?’.”

The Cars.com.za report didn’t specify whether its intel refers only to the South African market or applies globally – though it speculates the former – but the plot is thickened by the fact there are four different 70 Series powertrains to choose from in South Africa.

In contrast, Australia and other markets receive only two, however, there’s little doubt the V8’s lifecycle is limited given the new 2.8-litre turbo-diesel option matches it in all key metrics (except exhaust note) for less money and, crucially, fewer emissions.

Local delivery wait times for 70 Series V8s are still hovering around the 12-month mark, which would account for most Australian production ahead of its reported 2025 expiry date.

Toyota Australia could therefore re-open the V8 order book it closed earlier this year due to overwhelming demand, but the expected surge in demand could mean that many future – and perhaps even current – customer orders cannot be filled.

One thing’s for sure: when a production deadline is officially called for Toyota’s last diesel V8, you can expect to see a mammoth surge in asking prices for used 70 Series V8s – just like we saw with the 70 Series 70th Anniversary edition and the LandCruiser 200 Series.

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