Copyright jalopnik
Despite the reliability concerns surrounding Toyota's new i-FORCE V6, it's hard to argue with its 389 horsepower and 479 pounds-feet of torque. The legend of the Land Cruiser doesn't exist because the truck was ever particularly powerful or fast, so dropping this powerfully modern engine under the classic hood of a 1985 likely gives the Turbo Trail Cruiser some significant shove. Toyota says it's connected to the original bell housing of the Land Cruiser's factory five-speed manual transmission, which didn't even require any additional cuts into the car's firewall. It did, however, require custom motor mounts and a custom adapter plate to mate the new engine to that original transmission. The twin-turbocharged V6 now breathes through a custom exhaust which Toyota says provides "an aggressive exhaust note," and it's all kept cool thanks to a new heat exchanger that's wired with a custom wiring harness that should ensure factory-quality drivability. Marty Schwerter, Toyota Motorsports Garage director of operations and the lead builder of the Turbo Trail Cruiser project said, "the Turbo Trail Cruiser is about showing what happens when Toyota's modern performance technology is integrated into one of our most iconic classics. It's a hot-rod approach with Toyota DNA — power, drivability, and reliability in a package that still feels true to the original Land Cruiser." Overall, the most remarkable thing about this build is how original the whole thing looks; there are no obvious external cues and minimal interior cues that give away the twin-turbocharged secret under the classic hood of this restomod.
