Toyota Built an SUV That’s Faster Than the Bentley Bentayga
Toyota is looking to have the world’s fastest SUV.
Debuting at the 2016 SEMA Show, the Toyota Land Speed Cruiser is a custom project built by motorsports technical center manager Chuck Wade and his team of engineers. Sporting a low-slung design, the Land Cruiser is a purpose-built sled capable of generating over 2,000 horsepower and a top speed of 220 mph, leaving most sports cars in the dust.
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The build team began by extracting the outer shell of a 2016 Land Cruiser before heavily modifying the frame underneath. The 5.7-liter V8 engine then got outfitted with what Toyota says is a volleyball-sized Garrett turbocharger that flanks each bank of cylinders and breathes directly through front inlets in the specially designed aerodynamic hood. The Japanese automaker then paired the engine to an ATI transmission.
Joining the Toyota Land Speed Cruiser at the 2016 SEMA Show is a production 2017 Land Cruiser and the first-generation 1961 Land Cruiser, along with other numerous modified Toyota vehicles.
“With the Land Speed Cruiser, we are breaking all of the normal conventions of what an SUV should be,” said Steve Appelbaum, Toyota Motor Sales national egagement marketing manager. “This is a vehicle is truly a feat of engineering.”
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