The Toyota BJ that laid that foundation of trust, has a direct descendant...the 70 series.

This may be a workhorse, but it has become an icon…The legend itself.

We received many comments from fans on social media, pleading with us not to let it go...“Don’t change a thing!” they said.

Well, we listened...and today I am pleased to reveal that we committed to updating the 70 to keep that legend alive.

Seeing this refreshed Land Cruiser 70 next to its ancestors, there is no questioning its loyalty to its roots...It is proud to be raw and utilitarian.

Under the revised bodywork, we made just the updates functionally necessary: a new, more efficient engine and transmission...and advanced safety features.

If the 70 is the essence of Land Cruiser...then the flagship Land Cruiser 300, is the pinnacle.

But today, I want to talk about what lies between those two worlds. Today is all about defining the CORE of Land Cruiser.

Land Cruiser has special meaning for our Chairman Akio Toyoda, whose grandfather first introduced the vehicle.

When it came to developing the new core model, his task to us was simple… deceptively simple... “Genten Kaiki.”

Taken literally, this means “Back to the Origin.”

He didn’t go into detail. It was up to us to work it out.

Our immediate reaction was to look backward. Do we reinvent the bare-bones 70 Series? Do we go retro? No, that was too obvious.

He was giving us a chance to hit the reset button...A chance to reassess the real meaning and values of Land Cruiser in Toyota’s portfolio...And a chance to create a vehicle that distilled those values so they would act as a foothold to the future.

We embraced that chance to define the unwavering core beliefs of Land Cruiser... and put them into a form that would transcend trends... a product in which ALL our customers could place their unconditional trust.

When everyone saw our proposal, they were equally unwavering: “Let’s do it.”

Ladies and gentlemen, the new SOUL of Land Cruiser.