Toyota is fully embracing its off-road heritage with its concepts at the 2024 SEMA show. After showing off its 4Runner TRD Surf concept last week, Toyota detailed a second open air off-roader concept for SEMA that’s based on the new Land Cruiser. Like the 4Runner Surf, this concept draws from the Land Cruiser’s heritage for inspiration.
It’s called the Land Cruiser ROX, which stands for Recreation Open eXperience. Yes, that’s how Toyota spelled it. Toyota says that over half of the Land Cruiser used in the concept had to either be “reinvented or fabricated.” Beyond just the roof and pickup bed, the concept has wild side steps, exaggerated fender flares and huge metal bumpers.
Kevin Hunter, President at Calty Design Research, the studio who helped design the concept, talked about how the ROX concept takes inspiration from the Land Cruiser’s history of open-top off-roading:
“We asked ourselves how we could make an even more exciting experience for our Land Cruiser enthusiast but from a real product perspective,” Hunter said. “Using Land Cruiser 250 as a base, we modified the body to open it up, expanding the usability, functionality and overall fun outdoor experience.”
Up front, the distinctive front fascia of the new Land Cruiser stays intact. Toyota added high-lift custom fabricated front bumpers, enhanced by bright orange tow hooks and a big front skid plate. There are wider fenders to deal with the huge off-road tires and one-piece machined billet wheels designed by Calty. The paint is also a nod to the Land Cruiser’s past. Called Spring Green, it was an exterior color available on the FJ40 Land Cruiser.
The open-air interior comes courtesy of custom fabricated “skeleton” doors with both upper and lower sections of the doors sitting on top of high-clearance rocker panels and rock rails. It has a custom designed soft top that can be operated by anyone sitting in the interior. In another brilliant move, designers made a mid-gate system that allows access to the truck bed from the interior. There are other thoughtful design touches like 3D printed parts, Heritage Orange leather seats, and safety kits and webbing integrated into the door panels for added storage
Like with other SEMA concepts, a lot of the goodies are under the skin. The ROX concept has a custom suspension setup designed by TRD that adds an additional four inches of ground clearance, and engineers also threw on forged aluminum control arms. Mike Tripp, group vice president of Toyota Division Marketing, called the concept a “one of a kind build.”
Like its 4Runner TRD Surf Concept SEMA companion, Toyota should definitely take a note from all the people like us that will surely gush over it and actually build this thing. Or at least build something with this special body style sans all the wild SEMA mods.
