Toyota Land Cruiser to be launched in June!

The big daddy of all SUVs is finally making its way to India - Toyota will be launching the Land Cruiser earlier than you might think! Come June 2009 and interested buyers will be able to drive home from Toyota showrooms across the country in what is regarded as one of the best SUVs ever made.

Though details are still sketchy, the Land Cruiser will be brought to India as a CBU and will be priced close to Rs 80 lakh - pitching it bang against quite an eloquent German competition. Under the hood is most likely going to be the 4.5 litre V8 diesel engine that Toyota has on sale abroad. The monster of an oil burner is good for 286PS @ 3600rpm. If you think that's a big number, wait till the 650Nm of torque kicks in at 1600rpm all the way through to 2800rpm! Coupled with a 6-speed automatic gearbox and 4 wheel drive, the 4461cc twin-turbo equipped diesel mill can propel the 2555kg Land Cruiser to 100 km/h in a claimed 8.2 seconds.

Also in Toyota's international Land Cruiser arsenal is a massive 5.7 litre DOHC VVT-I V8 petrol engine capable of close to 400 PS of power. Sadly, Toyota might not be getting this powerplant to India when it takes the wraps off the Land Cruiser in June 2009. Following closely on the Land Cruiser's heels will be another SUV, albeit smaller - the Fortuner which should be launched sometime in August this year. Stay tuned to ZigWheels for more updates soon!