This Land Cruiser GR Sport carrying U.S. Toyota producer plates will not be heading to the Chicago Auto Present in any case
by Chris Chilton
17 hours in the past
by Chris Chilton
Replace: Toyota knowledgeable us that it received’t show the brand new Land Cruiser GR Sport on the 2023 Chicago Auto Present, with out offering an evidence for why the automobile is within the US.
Photographs of a Toyota Land Cruiser noticed within the U.S. carrying Illinois producer license plates are fueling hypothesis that the enduring SUV is perhaps gearing up for a return to North America.
The one 2023 Land Cruiser GR Sport was photographed on the again of a transporter along with a BMW M4 and a pair of Jeep Wranglers. Shut-up photos present the distinguished GR branding and part-red leather-based inside.
Toyota withdrew the J200 Land Cruiser from the North American market in 2021 after poor gross sales and opted to not import its 2022 J300 alternative, providing solely the Toyota’s upscale sister, the Lexus LX, as a substitute. Each fashions swapped their predecessors’ naturally aspirated V8s for a 3.4-liter twin-turbo V6 rated at 409 hp (415 PS).
However late final yr Toyota Motor North America Govt Vice President of Gross sales Jack Hollis hinted that the legendarily powerful truck might need unfinished enterprise on the continent. “Will we ever? I’d say possible sure,” he replied when requested by Motor Pattern if Toyota would ever carry the Land Cruiser again to U.S. showrooms.
Associated: Newest Toyota Land Cruisers Promoting For Double Their Retail Value In Japan’s Used Automotive Market
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“Clearly Land Cruiser is such an essential a part of our heritage and has achieved such an awesome job,” Hollis went on to say. “And I’ll be taking a look at it, completely. Have I seen designs, ideas, and hopes? Sure. However nothing to announce. It’s nonetheless a methods off.”
That was solely final December, and Toyota’s Japanese manufacturing staff is already struggling to satisfy demand from different components of the world for the brand new model of the truck, so it appears extremely unlikely that Toyota is poised to announce U.S. gross sales at this level.
Because it received’t be current at subsequent week’s Chicago Auto Present, the place Toyota plans to debut the 2024 Grand Highlander, we speculate that Toyota North America might merely be performing some inner analysis drives of the 2023 Land Cruiser.
Would you prefer to see Toyota carry the brand new Land Cruiser to North America, and do you suppose sufficient individuals would purchase it to make sense of the thought? Depart a remark and tell us.
