Toyota Land Cruiser Raised from the Dead, Will Return to the U.S.

The Toyota Land Cruiser will return to America, based on posts by the automaker’s U.S. social media accounts.Along with a clip showing photos of past Land Cruiser badges, Toyota of America wrote, “The legend returns.”With Lexus recently revealing a new GX, it’s plausible the next U.S.-bound Land Cruiser could share that SUV’s body-on-frame platform.

Like a killer in a slasher flick, the Toyota Land Cruiser that’s sold in America didn’t stay dead. Toyota today posted a short clip showing past Land Cruiser badges on its U.S. social media accounts along with the words, “The legend returns.” While the company didn’t release any other details, it’s clear the Land Cruiser nameplate is officially returning to our shores.

Following the 2021 model year, Toyota decided to discontinue the 200-series Land Cruiser in America. Meanwhile, the new 300-series debuted in other markets before making its way to the U.S. in the form of the more upscale Lexus LX. The next Land Cruiser we get isn’t expected to be based on the 300-series, though. Instead, it could possibly share a body-on-frame platform with the new 2024 Lexus GX.

The new mid-size GX was conceived as a Lexus from the beginning, but we think it’s entirely possible that it could also provide the basis for the next-gen Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, which is sold globally as a smaller version of the full-size LC as well as the GX’s corporate counterpart. Toyota could then drop “Prado” from the name and sell it in America as just Land Cruiser. This speculation is further backed by a report by Automotive News, who made similar claims citing a person familiar with Toyota’s plan.

That’s all we know for now, but stay tuned as more information on the Land Cruiser’s U.S. return is expected to trickle out over the next couple months.

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Eric Stafford’s automobile addiction began before he could walk, and it has fueled his passion to write news, reviews, and more for Car and Driver since 2016. His aspiration growing up was to become a millionaire with a Jay Leno–like car collection. Apparently, getting rich is harder than social-media influencers make it seem, so he avoided financial success entirely to become an automotive journalist and drive new cars for a living. After earning a journalism degree at Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, the years of basically burning money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies finally paid off when Car and Driver hired him. His garage currently includes a 2010 Acura RDX, a manual ’97 Chevy Camaro Z/28, and a ’90 Honda CRX Si.