Sixty Years in the Biz: 2020 Toyota Land Cruiser Heritage Edition
Eager to celebrate the Land Cruiser’s 60th birthday (in America), Toyota has released preliminary details on the 2020 model year’s Heritage Edition before its official debut at the Chicago Auto Show. While technically an appearance package with a handful of retro-themed clues hinting at the model’s lengthy lifespan, it’s one of the more endearing makeovers in recent times.
Suckers for nostalgia will love the vintage-looking Land Cruiser badge on the SUV’s D-pillars. But the limited-production model also comes with bronze 18-inch BBS wheels with some throwback charms of their own. Heritage Editions also receive widespread black accenting on the exterior and nixed running boards for a cleaner look.
Inside, Toyota abandoned the three-row option to maximize cargo space. The cooler in the center console also disappears, further expanding interior storage. Otherwise, it’s supposed to be fully loaded — not that the model has a particularly vast options list. But you get the all-weather floor mats and cargo liner that are usually a couple hundred dollars extra.
Black leather is the only available fabric option, allowing the automaker to implement contrast stitching in the same bronze hue that graces its unique wheels.
Nothing changes mechanically, however. The 2020 Land Cruiser Heritage Edition will still use the same 5.7-liter V8 mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission and four-wheel drive as the base model. Crawl control with Toyota’s dynamic suspension system are both standard inclusions.
While limited to only 1,200 examples on the North American market, Toyota really could have made this more exclusive. Modern Land Cruisers sales are only a fraction of what they were in the 1990s. These days, Toyota is lucky to move more than 3,000 units per year.
Further hampering things is the fact that the retro appearance pack only allows for vehicles to be sold with black or white paint. Currently, Toyota only sells the model in grayscale and onyx blue, after brandywine mica vanished from the paint inventory. Would it have been so hard to have offered the package in dark blue or gray?
Pricing hasn’t been announced, but the Heritage Edition should be a few grand dearer than the Land Cruiser’s $86,060 base MSRP when it goes on sale. It’ll definitely help broaden the vehicle’s profit margins, though we doubt customers will deplete its inventory overnight. Those interested in having a look can find it at Toyota’s booth at the Chicago Auto Show next month, or wait until it arrives on dealer lots this summer.
[Images: Toyota]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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God I want a Land Cruiser.
I love that they dug out the ancient dorky font that looks like it was done by a 3rd grader for the rear pillar badges, along with the script that looks like the artist had learned by then learned cursive. Both are cringe worthy to today's eyes but they are certainly appropriate for a version celebrating the anniversary.