Toyota teased the FJ Bruiser last week, revealing its NASCAR-sourced V8 engine. Today, we can see the finished product before it arrives at this year’s SEMA Show, and it looks nothing like the 1966 FJ45 pickup it started as.
The team behind the build began by fabricating a full tube chassis and roll cage, mating the body to the custom frame. The FJ has solid axles, Currie front and rear differentials, and an Advanced Adapter Atlas transfer case. It soaks up tough terrain thanks to a full trailing arm suspension with Fox shocks and Eibach springs.
28 Photos
Mostly under the hood is a modified version of Toyota Racing Development’s 358-cubic-inch NASCAR V8 engine. Toyota didn’t divulge what it changed for the FJ, but the engine typically makes around 725 horsepower in full race trim. It has a three-speed race-built Rancho Drivetrain Engineering automatic transmission and a MagnaFlow exhaust system.
The Bruiser’s drivetrain gives it unique performance attributes. The Land Cruiser can crawl at 12 mph flat-out in the lowest gear. It can also race across the landscape at 165 mph in the highest gear at 7,000 rpm, using its 42-inch BF Goodrich Krawler T/A KX tires for maximum grip. They wrap around 20-inch Method Beadlock wheels that can reach halfway up the windshield at full bump travel.
One of the truck’s more ingenious features is the integrated CAMSO track. Toyota replaced the center skid plate with the tank-like track that can rescue the Bruiser if it gets high-centered. The driver doesn’t even need to get out of the vehicle, with the mode activated from inside the cabin with the press of a button.
Momo Daytona EVO seats, which Toyota reupholstered in plaid as an homage to the FJ’s original scheme, hold the occupants in place. The driver wields a 1968 Jackie Stewart championship steering wheel from the aftermarket company.
The FJ Bruiser will be at the show in Las Vegas next to the new Tacoma X-Runner concept, a rad street truck. It has a lowered suspension, a 421-hp twin-turbocharged 3.4-liter V6 engine, a 3.0-inch wider track, and 21-inch carbon-fiber wheels, and we want it almost as bad as the Bruiser.
