The Toyota FJ Cruiser, which is no longer with us, was created as a spiritual successor of the legendary FJ Land Cruiser.

The Japanese carmaker has once again paid tribute to the beloved FJ at the SEMA Show 2023. But this time, its new creation is more than just chunky looks and a V6 engine.

Toyota unveiled the FJ Bruiser concept at the annual U.S. custom auto show, sporting a Toyota Motorsports Garage full tube frame and roll cage under the classic FJ45 pickup body.

Perhaps the most dramatic change is under the hood – in place of the hardy inline-6 from the ‘60s FJ45 lies a modified 358 cubic-inch (that’s 5.9 liters for us) NASCAR Cup Car V8 engine pumping out a staggering 735 PS. 

To make sure that everyone can hear the tower of power that you’re packing under the hood, this epic powerplant gets a custom MagnaFlow exhaust system.

All this muscle is coursed through a Rancho Drivetrain Engineering 3-speed automatic gearbox. The FJ45's solid axle remains, but a beefed-up transfer case, along with new front and rear differentials, provide four two-wheel-drive speeds and four four-wheel-drive speeds. 

According to Toyota, the gearing setup allows the FJ Bruiser to crawl at 19 km/h while revving to 7,000 rpm in the lowest gear and up to a heart-stopping 265 km/h at 7,000 rpm in the highest gear.

Ready for any terrain

Putting all this power to the ground is full trailing-arm suspension with Fox shocks and Eibach springs. 

The FJ Bruiser rides on Method Double Standard 20-inch beadlock wheels wrapped in 42-inch BFGoodrich Krawler T/A KX tires. And there’s even a nifty feature for when you get really stuck.

This off-road concept is fitted with an underside conveyor belt, complete with treading. “Tank” mode can be activated from the cabin so that you can crawl over obstacles with this beast’s belly instead of the tires.

Do you think the Toyota FJ Bruiser is a more fitting tribute to the original FJ Land Cruiser?

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