Toyota will showcase a unique concept based on the Land Cruiser 250 that will debut at the SEMA Show 2024 (Specialty Equipment Market Association Show), which takes place every year in Las Vegas, USA. Called the Land Cruiser Rox, it gets a unique convertible roof setup with a small pickup bed.
- Land Cruiser Rox based on India-bound Prado SUV
- Gets unique convertible roof, added rigidity
- Sees no changes to its powertrain
Toyota Land Cruiser Rox: what is it?
The specially designed concept is based on the Land Cruiser 250, which is essentially a rebadged version of the Toyota Land Cuiser Prado that's headed to India. For the Rox, over 50 percent of the vehicle had to be reinvented and fabricated.
The concept gets the ROX suffix, which stands for Recreation Open Experience, and is designed by Toyota’s CALTY design studio. CALTY, which is the acronym for California, Toyota, and Ya-chioda Sangyo is a Toyota design studio that was established in 1973. This studio has been instrumental in coming up with designs for many popular Toyota models like the Celica, Corolla and the Land Cruiser 250 (Prado), among others.
Coming back to the concept, the SUV features custom-fabricated “skeleton” doors with open upper and lower sections positioned atop aggressive-looking, high-clearance rocker panels and rock rails. Furthermore, the D-pillar has been chopped off for a pickup-like look and the roof has been replaced by a custom front-to-rear sliding soft top. Toyota has also added some additional reinforcements between the pillars for added structural rigidity.
Up top, it also gets a custom integrated triple-bar roof rack and sports bar with molle panels that provide a means to secure anything that doesn’t fit in the bed or attach to the molle panels. Custom fabricated, high-lift front and rear steel bumpers with D-rings and brush guards provide fore and aft protection. At each corner, specially designed, widened fenders are filled with massive tires mounted to custom Calty-designed, 18-inch machined billet wheels.
The interior features custom SLS Nylon 3D printed bits including front and rear doorsills. It has been updated to express a fun vibe using Heritage Orange leather, and door panels have integrated safety kits and catch-all webbing for sunglasses and other adventure gear.
There are no changes under the hood, which means the concept SUV is powered by the same 2.4-litre petrol engine coupled with a strong hybrid setup. It, however, does get customized independent suspension by TRD, a 4-inch lift kit and wider tracks by way of forged aluminum control arms at both the front and back
Toyota is currently mum on whether the concept would make it to series production, however, going by the current hype around rugged body-on-frame SUVs globally, we could see a convertible pickup truck based on the Land Cruiser Prado in the future. For India, Toyota is readying for the India launch of the Land Cruiser Prado that will slot under the popular LC 300.
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