Toyota will bring this Land Cruiser ROX and the 4Runner TRD Surf to SEMA next week.
If you caught yesterday’s 4Runner TRD Surf news, I think you’ll agree that Toyota’s going convertible crazy for this year’s SEMA show in Las Vegas. Friday morning, the automaker revealed the Land Cruiser ROX concept, which is another run at Land Cruisers of yesteryear like the iconic FJ40, using the visage of the brand-new 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser model.
What exactly does “ROX” mean? Well, the Calty Design Research group came up with that acronym, and it’s short for “Recreation Open eXperience” (yeah, totally would have guessed that). Instead of just building up the normal Land Cruiser 250 with a host of off-road parts — though there’s plenty of that going on, too — the ROX gets a unique look by way of a sliding softtop roof at the back. Unlike the 40 Series and the 4Runner TRD Surf concept, though, this Land Cruiser concept keeps all four doors.
Toyota says it had to reinvent and refabricate over half the base Land Cruiser to create the ROX concept. Beyond the sliding softtop roof, designers and engineers created custom “skeleton” door to open upper and lower sections. There’s also a midgate between the cabin and the truck bed created behind the rear seats, while the sloping rear pillar incorporates Molle panels for you to hang whatever gear you’d like on the sides. Instead of your typical liftgate, the Land Cruiser ROX also gets an actual tailgate with integrated seats, as well as a spare tire carrier and a custom jerrycan in the rear.
As you likely spotted, the Toyota Land Cruiser ROX concept sits significantly higher than the normal 250 Series. In fact, it gets a four-inch suspension lift over the base mdoel, and an 8-inch wider track thanks to forged aluminum control arms both front and rear. To protect those low-profile doors, the ROX also gets beefy rock sliders, while you get custom front and rear bumpers, a winch, integrated recovery hooks and a host of underbody protection.
Up top, the ROX gets a triple-bar roof rack, as well as seven auxiliary lights mounted at the front. The body is painted in Spring Green, which again is a nod to old-school Land Cruisers.
Any other changes inside?
Toyota fit custom 3D-printed pieces to the interior like the door sills in order to better weatherproof the ROX against the elements. Otherwise, you get a mix of black and Heritage Orange leather accents on the instrument panel, door cards, seats and center console. The door panels also get built-in safety kits and webbing to store sunglasses and other gear.
Now, if you’re hoping Toyota will actually put this particular Land Cruiser into production…Yeah, don’t hold your breath. Just like the experimental 4Runner that calls back to the 1980s, it’s likely that these SEMA builds will just be one-offs. Hopefully, though, some of these elements will filter down to the production SUVs, at least as accessories Toyota will sell you to fit to your own Land Cruiser (namely with the suspension stuff, tire options and so on). Maybe the interior and exterior colors will play out through special edition models, but a two-door 4Runner and this throwback Land Cruiser probably won’t be at your local dealer anytime soon, or perhaps ever. Sorry to burst any bubbles there.
