The Toyota LandCruiser is another iconic nameplate equal to that of the Land Rover Defender. While the LandCruiser has pretty much proved its worth on the planet’s most hostile surface, it’s never been a fast machine nor a hypercar beater. That is, until now.
The mad folks at Toyota Motorsports Technical Centre have turned the LandCruiser into a 2,000 hp brute. That’s right, such insane number of ponies allows a top speed of a blistering 370.18 km/h when tested on a 4 km runway at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. They call it the Land Speed Cruiser and currently, it’s unofficially the world’s fastest SUV.
While it utilises the same 375 hp 5.7-litre V8 that powers the standard Land Cruiser, power is boosted by the usage of two “volleyball-sized” Garrett turbochargers that’s capable of churning up to 55 psi of boost. The engine’s internal parts have been beefed up to cope with the massive surge of power, with a custom racing transmission being mated to the V8. To reduce air turbulence, the ride has to be lowered, with the frame now narrowed down by 76mm to fit the wider Michelin Pilot Super Sport rubbers.
The current official record holder is held by a Mercedes-Benz GLK tuned by Brabus, where its 740 hp 6.3-litre twin-turbo V12 clocked a top speed of 340 km/h.
