Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series V8 order book may never reopen

Australians may never be able to order a new V8-powered Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series again.

That’s the stark admission from Toyota Australia less than three months after the upgraded LC70 with the availability of a four-cylinder engine went on sale in October.

Toyota Australia vice-president of sales, marketing and franchise operations, Sean Hanley, told carsales last week the updated LandCruiser 70 Series V8 may only be delivered to those who have already ordered one.

“Absolutely there’s a chance we’ll never reopen the order banks,” said Hanley when asked if there was a possibility the top-selling brand may never take orders again on V8 LandCruiser 70 Series.

The admission comes weeks after reports surfaced in South Africa suggesting Toyota was preparing to stop production of the 4.5-litre V8 turbo-diesel engine that first appeared in the 70 Series in 2007.

Cars.co.za cited unnamed sources as confirming the V8 would be killed off by the end of 2025.

Hanley wouldn’t be drawn on the validity of the reports, adding only that “there’s a lot of speculation about [the V8] discontinuing – we certainly haven’t said that”.

But at the same time, he didn’t say there was no truth to the report. And he hinted the V8 was approaching the end of its life, at which point the four-cylinder version would likely become the only engine choice.

“Whilst we can’t rule in V8s forever – we certainly can’t do that – at this stage we have no announcements about when they will or if they will discontinue,” said Hanley.

Toyota Australia’s chief salesman cited the federal government’s yet-to-be-announced fuel-efficiency standard (FES), which was promised in 2023 but is now expected early in 2024, that could play a significant role in any decisions about the V8.

“The realities of the world and environment we’re moving into are real,” he said. “FES, Euro 6 [emissions standards] – all these types of new standards – will largely determine the portfolio of Toyotas and other makes going forward,” said Hanley.

“I don’t know yet what an FES might mean for us in the future. It may mean that we have to adjust.”

Either way, the window for buying a new V8-powered LandCruiser 70 Series appears to be closing.

Toyota Australia instructed its dealers to stop taking LandCruiser 70 Series orders in July 2022. When it announced the imminent arrival of the four-cylinder earlier in 2023 it continued the sales pause on the V8 and has not reopened the order book since.

There is one glimmer of hope for those desperate to get what appears to be the last 70 Series V8: the popularity of the four-cylinder.

With more grunt, lower fuel use and better performance than the V8, the familiar 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel is proving surprisingly popular, especially with fleets and government departments.

Toyota had initially forecast that 30 per cent of buyers who placed orders for a V8 would shift to the four-cylinder, but the company says the initial response suggests that figure will be higher.

“We are seeing a better than expected conversion,” said Hanley. “Our expectation of people moving from V8 to four-cylinder was about 30 per cent… we expect that will be a far better ratio by the end of March.”

Obviously if enough people cancel their V8 LC70 orders, Toyota would be able to reopen the order book – even with an end date on V8 production.

But the way it stands, it appears anyone with a confirmed order for a V8-powered LandCruiser 70-Series would be wise to continue to wait in a queue that still stretches into the middle of 2025.

After all, with such solid resale values and the Aussie love of V8 engines, there’s every chance those lucky enough to take delivery will be in line for a tidy profit.