When a performance is achieved that has never existed to this extent, it is a record – a discipline that the Toyota Land Cruiser, which has been built in more than ten million units since 1951, has mastered in a very special way: there are hardly any extremely inaccessible locations on this globe that the veterans of all-terrain vehicles have not yet reached – and with legendary reliability.
But venturing a Vmax record drive was new territory for the Japanese off-road vehicle until 2016, but then the Toyota Land Speed Cruiser came – and won.
Actually, it seemed a crazy idea to compete with a high-build off-roader in the discipline that is otherwise a domain of ultra-flat racers. Reason enough for the Toyota Motorsports Technical Center (MTC) in Los Angeles / USA, normally responsible for the development of Toyota racing cars of the NASCAR series, to take on the challenge of a record drive.
It was too tempting to let the pig out with an optically almost conventional but technically sharpened Land Cruiser V8. In the first stage of expansion, the Land Cruiser became the star of SEMA in Las Vegas in November 2016.
Lowered, 315/35 ZR20 tires mounted on forged wheels, aerodynamically advantageous cameras instead of the conventional rear view mirror, in deep black glossy paint and with a powerful hood on the bonnet: The Toyota, now called Land Speed Cruiser, immediately gave an indication of the evil beast, that slept in his otherwise good body.
But only a closer look reveals the potential of this pulse accelerator, with which the specialists at MTC wanted to break down the last frontier for hard SUVs – the world speed record. Almost every component of the Land Speed Cruiser was modified and adapted for the record hunt under the outer shell.
The large, otherwise seven-seat cabin of the station wagon was emptied except for the cockpit, which was supplemented with additional monitors. Instead, a light racing driver seat and seat belts according to FIA specifications as well as a solid roll cage were installed. Under the hood of the designated world record holder was the standard 5.7-liter V8 petrol engine on the US market with originally 280 kW (381 hp).
For acceleration in speed ranges, which only the world’s fastest production sports cars achieved in 2016, the conceptually heavy and anything but streamlined classic off-road vehicle still required a huge increase in output to 1,471 kW / 2,000 hp!
This gave the off-road vehicle five times more power than the production vehicle, creating a superlative that left visitors speechless at the SEMA tuning show.
The technical data in detail:
- Engine: V8, modified pistons and connecting rods as well as two Garrett GTX4718R turbochargers with 3.8 bar boost pressure, wastegate and blow-off valve from TurboSmart, custom intercooler from MTCI (Toyota Motorsports Technical Center Inc)
- Displacement: 5,663 cubic centimeters
- Power: 1,471 kW (2,000 hp)
- Maximum torque: not specified
- Transmission: Weismann 8-speed automatic with pneumatic gear change and centrifugal multi-disc wet clutch
- Top speed: 370.18 km / h (230.02 mph)
But in the end, the Land Cruiser, which had become legendary as “Go-Anywhere”, had to break an existing record for SUVs of 339 km / h (211 mph) and advance into new speed territory. Therefore, hardly any part of the series V8 in the Toyota was left untouched.
To this end, MTC engineers initially used two giant Garrett turbochargers in volleyball size that guaranteed up to 3.8 bar boost pressure. Wastegate and blow-off valve as well as a specially developed intercooler from MTCI (Toyota Motorsports Technical Center Inc) were also not to be missed.
Three petrol pumps were responsible for the energy supply and the exhaust system, which ended in two side pipes, was also specially developed. To endure the brute force, the V8 received, among other things, more stable pistons and reinforced connecting rods. An 8-speed automatic transmission from the specialist Weismann was responsible for the power transmission.
The Toyota Land Speed Cruiser was not to achieve the targeted title “Fastest SUV in the World” on one of the large American salt lakes, but rather on special terrain: a runway just four kilometers long at the “Mojave Air and Space Port” in California.
After racing and test driver Craig Stanton fine-tuned the Toyota Land Speed Cruiser at Toyota’s Arizona Proving Ground (TAPG), former Toyota NASCAR driver Carl Edwards attempted to set a new record on May 2, 2017 and made it exciting: Im He reached 339 km / h (211 mph) the first time, then threatened to run out of braking.
More boost was needed, so Edwards put the Land Speed Cruiser to the test and the Toyota held out! The off-road vehicle burned exactly 370.18 km / h (230.02 mph) into the ground, which at that time set a world speed record for classic off-road vehicles and SUVs. Nothing is impossible, even with the Toyota Land Cruiser in its fastest form.
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