We already spoke of the Kuwaiti launch of the 5.7-litre “special edition” 60th Anniversary Toyota Land Cruiser, but it looks like the UAE version of the Anniversary model is slightly different in its dealer-installed mods, and seemingly available for sale in both 4.7-litre and 5.7-litre forms.
One of our readers, Fahad, tipped us off that the 2011 Toyota Land Cruiser will now be available with a 5.7-litre V8 in the Middle East, and has already been revealed in Kuwait as a 60th anniversary model, according to the dealer website there. We are also hearing rumblings that the 5.7-litre model is already in the UAE, and should soon be found in Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries too.
Alongside an earlier-announced recall for 39,000 Lexus LX 470 4x4s built between 2003 and 2007, Toyota has also announced the global recall of all Land Cruiser models between 2003 and 2007. UAE media reports put the global number of affected Land Cruisers at around 40,000, for a total of almost 80,000. That number seems to suggest that only the V8 version is affected.
Though the Toyota Land Cruiser is the last vehicle to ever need a body kit, we came across these offerings from a Japanese company called Jaos.
Toyota is having a string of bad publicity in the United States, the company’s largest market, where Toyota’s perception of quality helped it become the largest automaker in the world this year.
The Toyota stand at the 2009 Dubai Motor Show had some interesting variants of the Land Cruiser, FJ Cruiser and Yaris on display, all of which will apparently go on sale as special editions in the UAE. Photos by Faisal Khatib.
Toyota recently announced the 2010 Toyota Land Cruiser is going to get a new engine and transmission option, retiring the long-running 4.7-litre V8 to replace it with a Lexus-derived 4.6-litre V8. The upgrade is only for the Japanese-market model currently but may spread to GCC and other markets later.
Continuing our theme of oversized body kits for oversized egos, here is a body kit for the Toyota Land Cruiser by Japanese kit-maker Wald. Called the BLACK BISON package, it is nothing more than a styling package.
The 2008 Toyota Land Cruiser was launched in the UAE today. Engine choices include a 4.7-litre V8, a 4.0-litre V6 and a 4.5-litre turbodiesel V8. The 5.7-litre V8 found in the US-spec model will not be offered in the GCC.