New Toyota Land Cruiser 2020 special edition could be V8 swansong

Toyota is preparing a special edition of its LandCruiser this year, and with reports that the large SUV will go hybrid in August, it could be the last chance to get one with a V8.

Although the brand is still finalising details, CarsGuide understands the new special edition version will borrow elements from the US-market Heritage Edition revealed late last year.

In the US, the Heritage Edition loses its chrome exterior highlights, but gains a dark-finished front grille, side mirrors and foglights.

Bronze-coloured 18-inch BBS wheels are also fitted to the Heritage Edition, as is a roof rack and bespoke badging.

The Australia-market special edition LandCruiser might gain the same exterior tweaks as the Heritage Edition, but the former will not be powered by the latter’s 284kW/544Nm 5.7-litre petrol V8 as the engine option was just discontinued locally.

For reference, the sole engine available in the LandCruiser 200 Series is a 4.5-litre twin-turbo-diesel V8, outputting 200kW/650Nm.

Toyota Australia did confirm that the new special edition will be based off the top-spec Sahara grade, which means the full suite of safety equipment including reversing camera, surround-view monitor, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and underside camera.

The LandCruiser special edition is expected to break cover in the next few weeks, while reports point to the 300 Series model adopting a 3.6-litre V6 hybrid powertrain, outputting 220kW of power.