Toyota goes retro with 2020 Land Cruiser Heritage Edition

UPDATED: TOYOTA USA has launched a Heritage Edition Land Cruiser 200 Series to mark 60 years of the iconic model in the United States. The Land Cruiser first became available in the USA in 1958; however, this special edition is being sold there as a 2020 model, and has just hit dealer showrooms.

10

While most of what’s special about this Cruiser is the usual limited edition fare of blackouts, unique trim and leather upholstery, the items we couldn’t go past are the totally retro ‘Toyota Land Cruiser’ badges applied to the rear pillars.

They are straight off the original FJ20 Cruisers and don’t look out of place on this latest model. Where's that eBay log-in again?

10

To its credit, the Heritage Edition has a couple of concessions to improve off-road ability: the side steps have been omitted to improve clearance, and those mode-specific bronze alloy wheels are 18-inch forged units from BBS instead of the oversized rims many manufacturers would fit to their special models.

Like all 200s in the US, the Heritage model is powered by the 5.7-litre petrol V8 engine back by an eight-speed automatic transmission and dual-range, full-time 4x4, as found under the Lexus LX570 model here in Australia.

The Americans don’t get the 1VD-FTE twin-turbo diesel V8, which accounts for more than 98 per cent of Land Cruiser sales here.

The Heritage Edition will be limited to just 1200 models.

In Australia, TMCA produced a kind-of heritage edition of its own. This one-off LC200 Sahara was fitted with all the usual blackouts and factory accessories, and it copped a unique paint scheme in Vintage Gold Metallic with a contrasting white roof – a hat-tip to the classic FJ40.

10