New Toyota Land Cruiser 300 won’t launch until 2021: The plot thickens for incoming icon – reports

The much-hyped LandCruiser 300 Series is now unlikely to launch until 2021, with earlier Japanese reports of a July or August reveal now being corrected. 

Earlier reports had the long-awaited 300 Series set for a July reveal in Japan, with an on-sale date to follow soon after, but those reports have now been corrected, with the all-new icon now being “released” in 2021. 

Whether that means a reveal will still occur in 2020 remains to be seen, but if the reports are to be believed, the 200 Series LandCruiser will need to fill the gap for a little longer yet. But after 12 long years, what’s a few more months?

It must be said that Toyota is yet to comment publicly on the timing for the new LandCruiser but has promised that the new model will be every bit as capable AS, if not more for than, the vehicle it replaces. 

“What I would say to our loyal LandCruiser owners is one thing they can be sure of whatever we do with LandCruiser in the future is we will make sure that car is every bit as capable and lives up to the legend that is LandCruiser in the future regardless of powertrain,” said Toyota Australia’s vice-president of sales and marketing, Sean Hanley.

“We will move as we have to move, but we will never bring a LandCruiser to market that is not capable of doing the things that people want it to do – because LandCruiser is an icon. One thing we’ve learnt is don’t mess with the LandCruiser.”

His comments preceded international reports that Toyota readying not one but two 3.5-litre engine option – one hybrid, one conventional – with the electrified powertrain reportedly set to focus on pulling power.

Japanese media is reporting that the 300 Series will arrive with a Lexus-derived 3.5-litre V6 engine with the choice of electrification.

If the reports are to be believed, your LandCruiser options will include the twin-turbocharged 3.5-litre V6 engine from the Lexus LS500. In Lexus guise, that engine produces some 310kW and 600Nm.

The V8’s outputs were 234kW and 460Nm, while the current diesel engine produces 250kW and 650Nm.

Option two, however, would appear to be an electrified version of that same engine, which – though the numbers haven’t been announced – would clearly increase the outputs, with Japanese media promising more power, with a focus on torque.

As previously reported, the new LandCruiser will adopt a ladder-frame TNGA platform, and will arrive in 4WD guise only. Japanese media has also reported the new vehicle’s dimensions as 4950mm in length, 1980mm in width, and 1870mm in height, and claimed the exterior design won’t stray too far from the current vehicle, only with a bolder front end more in keeping with Toyota’s modern line-up.

Critically, Toyota is yet to comment on the new LandCruiser, and CarsGuide hasn’t independently verified these reports.

“That vehicle is under development, and whatever powertrain it comes with will be suited to the Australian marketplace. Apart from that, we have nothing we can confirm at this point,” Toyota Australia has told us in the past.