New Toyota Land Cruiser gets V8

The massive Land Cruiser can drive over obstacles with a 630mm height difference without lifting a wheel off the ground

The iconic Toyota Land Cruiser has been given a makeover for 2008 – and now comes with a whopping V8 engine.

Toyota’s new 4.5-litre V8 engine fitted in the 2008 Land Cruiser is the Japanese company’s first eight-cylinder diesel – ever.

And the new V8 diesel – built to take on the likes of the BMW X5 and Range Rover – is Toyota’s most powerful diesel engine to date, producing 282bhp and a massive 478lb/ft of pulling power.

This prodigious power output propels the Toyota Land Cruiser V8 from 0-62mph in just 8.2 seconds and on to a top speed of 130mph.

Toyota has installed a range of electronic driver aids to ensure the massive power is transferred to the road, including what it claims to be the ‘world’s first’ four-wheel active height control and variable suspension.

This means the massive Land Cruiser can drive over obstacles with a 630mm height difference without lifting a wheel off the ground.

And as with all Toyota 4x4s – as witnessed in the epic Top Gear Polar Challenge which used a Toyota Hilux to travel to the magnetic north pole – the rugged Land Cruiser V8 has been engineered to operate in testing conditions ranging from -30 to +50 degrees C.

Inside, the driver is greeted by a cabin swathed in leather and which features four-zone climate control, a nine-speaker sound system, six-DVD autochanger and full-map satellite navigation.

The new Toyota Land Cruiser V8 will go on sale on 15 February 2008 and is priced from £55,995.

Auto Trader’s Stuart Milne was at the launch of the V8-powered Toyota Land Cruiser – check out his verdict here.