Restored Retro Cruiser fuels Land Cruiser love at SEMA

When it comes to reintroducing a nameplate as beloved as the Land Cruiser back to a major market, Toyota knows enough to load the hype train with plenty of cargo. The automaker is trotting out fan favorite after fan favorite onto the 2023 SEMA show floor, including several Land Cruiser creations. The roster everything from a mountain-flattening super crawler to a few exuberant expressions of the all-new 2024 Land Cruiser, but we’re partial to this Retro Cruiser—a revamp of a ’90s creation that blends a bit of something old and a bit of something even older.

The Retro Cruiser’s origins reach back to 1999, the result of a “what if?” conversation between senior management at Toyota and legendary racer Rod Millen. Toyota hauled the Retro Cruiser out of its company vault and refreshed it for duty at SEMA this year. Before we get into the details, let’s dig in to bigger picture—and why those proportions look a little funky.

The machine before you began life as a 1967 FJ45 Land Cruiser Wagon that Toyota acquired for $5000. At the time, the Cruiser was “in need of some love,” says Toyota. Plans were laid out to blend the FJ45 with the then-new FJ100 Series Land Cruiser, which had just debuted the year prior.

To make the concoction work, engineers stretched the FJ45’s frame by some 10 inches, modified the body for a more muscular look (read: stretched the hell out of it, because the 100 Series was nearly a foot wider and longer than the 40 Series, of which this FJ45 is a part), and set about fitting a bunch of performance enhancements to the resulting foundation. Think of this project as an early factory-backed restomod, akin to Jeep’s outrageous Easter Jeep Safari builds.

In the beginning, the team set out to use as many production components from the 100 Series Land Cruiser as possible. However, in the interest of ride comfort, a custom independent rear suspension with coilovers proved a better choice. Engineers narrowed the stock 100 Series differential but managed to retain the production brakes and hubs thanks to some custom uprights. With the new components and suspension layout, the Retro Cruiser offered an impressive 12 inches of wheel travel at the rear. The front track swelled by 4 inches, which had the added bonus of increasing front wheel travel by 30 percent.

Under the hood, Toyota engineers fitted the 100 Series’ 4.7-liter 2UZ-FE V-8, a now-legendary engine that was good for 230 horsepower when new. The rest of the driveline also came by way of the 100 Series, including the four-speed automatic transmission, the transfer case, and locking differentials front, rear, and center. A custom Borla stainless steel exhaust enabled the Retro Cruiser to exhale with some gumption.

Unsurprisingly, the 100 Series love continued on the inside. A slew of components from the contemporary Cruiser were fitted inside, including power seats, the center console, and more, many upgraded with Connolly leather. Added adventure-minded flourishes included an onboard satellite phone, a 15-gallon water supply tank, and an integrated roll cage.

Given that the original Retro Cruiser is now old enough to be considered a history piece, Toyota thought it prudent to give the creation a thorough overhaul before rolling it out at SEMA this year. The top-to-bottom refresh addressed worn and aged components such as leaking shocks rotted hoses, a tired fuel system, and more.

Mechanical maladies sorted, the Retro Cruiser then visited Complete Customs for an exterior glow-up. The shop stripped the rig down to bare metal, then restored it to the original tan color that it wore in ’99 at its debut. For shoes, the Retro Cruiser dons bespoke 17-inch billet wheels shrouded in 35-inch General Grabber All-Terrain tires.

Why roll out an old project nearly a quarter-century after its debut? The perfect coalescence of nostalgia and novelty, baby: “Vehicles like [the] Retro Cruiser are a testament to Land Cruiser’s iconic status as our longest-running nameplate,” explained Mike Tripp, group vice president of Toyota Marketing. “By showing it at SEMA we hope to inspire an entirely new generation of Land Cruiser lovers.”

Well said. This thing is sweet, and we have no doubt it’ll draw crowds in Vegas this year.

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